Yami Hinote
by Bluedog270
Summary: Full summary inside-Pearlshipping-Yami hinote. Dark Fire. So dark, yet so bright. So powerful, yet so controlled. The world will crumble from a power bigger than Arceus...unless...a hero steps up to the plate. *On Hault*
1. Chapter One

**DISCLAIMER- I do not own Pokémon**

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

**Summary-*UPDATED EVERY TWO DAYS*-** **Pearlshipping -*Ages- Ash-16, Dawn-15, Brock-19, Gary-18, Kenny-15 and half, Paul-17* T to be safe- **_**Italics are flashbacks (They won't be bolded though)-**_ Team Galactic has been getting worse. Stealing Pokémon was just a simple task to them now. They wanted something more. **POWER**. So can Ash, Dawn and Brock stop their madness?

* * *

The yellow mouse Pokémon hopped onto the bed. Dawn looked up from the picture and smiled. "You miss him too don't you Pikachu?" Dawn asked. Pikachu nodded sadly and then rubbed its check against Dawn's. Ash felt the tears coming on but didn't let them fall. He had to be strong. _Powerful._ Suddenly, Ash froze, a boom could be heard. "That's when I worry most." Dawn whispered as her eyes slowly closed.

* * *

Chapter One- Ice

Ash sighed as he watched the night sky. The sky was a splash of colors. A light blue clashed with a tinted green and a dimmed purple made the sky look like there was a slash in it. This is how the night looked the night before Dawn and Ash's very first contest. The night when Dawn found confront in Ash's arms.

The night when Ash realized his feelings.

* * *

_Dawn was lying in bed. Her stomach wasn't agreeing with her and her body wouldn't give in to the peace of sleep. Dawn let out a long breath and slowly got out of bed. She quietly tip-toed to the balcony; slowly siding the screen door open in the progress. Her bare feet touched the smooth cement and sent chills down her spine. Dawn felt the cold hands of winter wrap around her and she let out another breath. Dawn walked to the railing and put her hands on the ice-cold metal. _

_She would regret this later but she didn't care. Right now, she wanted to watch the city's bright neon lights flash and flicker. The lifeless hands of winter devilishly sent a gust of wind towards Dawn. Her body shuttered under the lifeless wind's control. _

_Ash woke up as a strong gust of wind slapped him across the face. Ash groggily rubbed his eyes and looked over to Dawn's bed. His heart stopped when he saw that she wasn't in her bed. Ash darted out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible but at the same time; as urgent as could be. His eyes scanned the room and locked on the open door. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Dawn leaning on the balcony. He silently walked towards her, his heart pulsing with bravery. Whenever he saw her, his stomach melted into butterflies and any pain or loneliness he was in disappeared. Just like a gust of wind enters and leaves. Like how we breathe in and out. Ash's foot touched the cement and he held his breath. It was FREZZING out there! _

_This also made Ash more aware of Dawn. She was out her in the harsh arms of winter with nothing on but thin paper-like P.J's. Ash decided it was time to make his presence known so he made his footsteps more noticeable._

The cell door slammed open as two Team Galactic grunts came in. Ash looked away from the small cell window and focused his eyes on the grunts. His eyes filled to the brim with venom. He could easily over take these two retarts. The grunts came forward and got on both sides of Ash.

"Where are you taking me?" Ash spat as they shoved him towards the door. The grunt on his right responded with a deep voice.

"Cyrus wants to see you." Once they were in the hallway, Ash made his move. He brought his foot up and kicked the grunt on his right in the stomach with all his might and then went into a fist fight with the grunt on his left. _For Dawn_, Ash thought as he dodged a punch.

_Dawn still didn't notice Ash as he walked up next to her._

"_Hey." Ash said softly as he put his hands on the railing as well; only to pull them back. Dawn jumped ten feet into the air in shock. Ash chuckled quietly to himself. Dawn had a scowl on her face as she turned back to Ash._

"_Don't laugh. What are you doing out here anyways?" Ash looked out onto the horizon. He looked back to Dawn. _

"_The wind woke me up. You should have shut the door." _

"_Didn't think of it." Dawn replied with a little hurt in her voice. Ash quickly softened his tone. _

"_So…what's wrong? I don't think freezing to death is going to solve anything." Dawn smiled at his remark. Dawn looked at Ash and took him in. Ash had on a plain white lose shirt that was too big for him. Ash had some muscles, he just never showed them. Dawn seen them before, but that was only because Ash threw off his shirt to go and fetch Pikachu from a lake. His arms were built too. You could see that when he grabbed a hold of something. _

_Like the time when he climbed Team Rocket's deathly machine to save his Pokémon. Anyway, back to the present. Ash also had on some light grey sweat pants. They both had no socks or shoes on. Dawn was wearing her paper thin pink P.J's and her hair was actually normal. No bedhead for her…yet. Dawn sighed as she replied. _

"_I can't sleep. I'm scared for tomorrow." _

"_Why?" Ash asked. _

"_Because what if I mess up? What if I make a fool of myself on TV in front of the entire Sinnoh region? What if I embarrass my mom? What if-" Ash cut her off. _

"_Dawn, listen. Stop with the 'what if's'. They are called 'what if's' for a reason. They don't always happen. Trust me, you are going to do fine tomorrow. And I will be there to cheer you on." They both had turned and were looking into each other's eyes. Dawn shivered. Ash wrapped his arms around her. Dawn was hesitant at first, but she soon gave in to Ash's warmth._

Ash dodged another punch. And then he threw a punch that hit its target. The other grunt he had kicked was still trying to recover. Ash took this as a sign to run. So he did. Ash ran down the maze of a hallway, dodging all of the other grunts trying to catch him. Then, one of the grunts called out his Magmortar and told it to do flamethrower. The flamethrower caused a fire wall to appear in front of Ash and stop him in his tracks. Ash turned around and saw at least 25 grunts in front of him plus the Magmortar. Then, Ash grabbed his left arm and flinched.

His left arm felt like it was…burning.

_Burning._

Ash gasped and looked at his arm. From his wrist up to his elbow it was a bright red color. Ash let go of his arm and put up a fighting stance. The grunts laughed and they advanced. Ash could feel his arm. It felt like it was melting off. He took another glance at it again just to make sure it _wasn't_ melting off. It was just getting a brighter red as the moment droned on. Ash focused back on the group of grunts coming towards him. Ash's left arm was now becoming numb. Just as the grunts started to attack, a deep voice stopped them all.

Ash knew that voice and hated it with all his life.

_Ash enjoyed the feeling of Dawn wrapped around him. It gave him butterflies. It gave him __life__**.**__ Dawn buried her head into Ash's chest because she was too short to reach his shoulder. _

"_Thanks Ash." She mumbled. Ash chuckled quietly. _

"_Anytime Dawn. Don't worry. I will always be here for you." Dawn pulled back and got on her tip-toes. Her lips touched Ash's and he kissed back before either of them could react. Ash bended down more so that Dawn could reach and they didn't pull away from each other. They only pulled away from each other because they needed to breathe. _

"_Ash," Dawn stated, resting her head onto Ash's chest once again, "Whenever you say 'don't worry', that's when I worry most."_

The voice pushed pass all of the grunts and perched it's self in front of Ash. Ash didn't stand down; he knew what this man was capable of. The old devil smiled and flashed a grin. Ash didn't fall for it. He clenched his teeth.

"What do you want?" Ash yelled with drive in his voice. _Dawn_ was his drive. _Dawn _was his _everything_. The man's blue hair was darker than the last time Ash saw it. Well figures actually. Ash has been in that damn cell for at least a few weeks. Months for all Ash knew. The man slowly walked around Ash, like he was a Salamence getting ready to attack. Then, he chuckled as he saw Ash's arm.

"Got burned a little did we?" Ash didn't answer. Answering this piece of dirt was useless. Ash wasn't going to lower himself to the man's level. "Answer me!" The man suddenly bellowed and Ash got shocked in the back. Ash yelled out in pain as the shock went on for a few more seconds. Once the shock stopped, Ash fell to the ground in pain. His back felt like it was on fire. The blue-haired man laughed. "Now, you are going to answer every question I ask, got it?" He growled the last part.

"Yes." Ash answered coldly. Another shock came to Ash's back. Ash screamed this time because it was in the same spot.

"You will also answer to me by either Cyrus or sir. Got it kid?"

"Yes…sir." Ash panted out through clenched teeth.

"Good." Cyrus smiled again. That same demon smile the monster would use for everything. "Now, first question, why did you try to escape?" Ash didn't need to think about that one.

"To escape this hell hole." Ash was surprised Cyrus didn't shock him.

"Hmmm…" Cyrus mused. Then, he took a remote from one of the grunts. "Try to escape again," He hit a button on the remote and the TV on the wall lit to life. Ash's eyes popped out of his head when he saw who was on screen.

_Ash laughed at Dawn's saying. _

"_Come on," Ash said leading Dawn into the room. "Let's get inside before we both freeze to death. Dawn left Ash's embrace so that he could shut the screen door and lock it. Dawn headed to her bed and slowly got in. Ash closed the curtain back in front of the door and headed towards his bed. But as he was climbing up the little ladder to his bed, Dawn grabbed his arm. _

"_Stay with me? Please?" _

"And this girl will be captured…or worse." Cyrus finished smiling. Ash gaped at the screen. It was live feed of Dawn sitting in her room looking at a picture. Ash couldn't see what the picture was, but whatever it was, it was making her cry. Ash saw a few tears leak out of her eyes.

_Dawn's eyes were pleading. Ash smiled. He climbed back down the ladder and Dawn got into her bed._

"You wouldn't…" Ash yelled. Then, a yellow mouse Pokémon hopped onto the bed. Dawn looked up from the picture and smiled.

"You miss him too don't you Pikachu?" Dawn asked. Pikachu nodded sadly and then rubbed its check against Dawn's. Ash felt the tears coming on but didn't let them fall. Ash wasn't going to show Cyrus weakness. Ash watched Dawn again. Pikachu was crying now too. Dawn let the tears out as well. Then, the door opened and Johanna came in. Ash remembered that she was Dawn's mother. She saw her daughter and the Pokémon crying and she quickly took a seat next to the two. She tried to calm them down. Then, she called in Prinplup. Ash was surprised. So Piplup did evolve! And he missed it! He cursed Cyrus for making him miss a special moment in his friend's life. The water Pokémon came and its eyes became wide at the sight of its trainer and friend crying. The penguin jumped on the bed.

"Prin, prin lup!" Pikachu looked up at Prinplup with tears still in its eyes.

"Pika…" The mouse Pokémon said sadly. Prinplup countered with a think-headed response. All the while Johanna tried to calm Dawn down. The picture fell off the bed and the camera zoomed in on it. It was a picture of Ash and Pikachu. Ash gave Dawn that picture after they had dated for a week. Ash's body filled with rage. His friends' were hurting because of Cyrus. Because of him. Because of Cyrus, his girlfriend and family of friends were all grieving! Because of damn Team Galactic!

"You wouldn't dare!" Ash yelled with all his might. This startled Cyrus and the rest of the grunts that were still in the room. Some of the grunts got bored and left.

"Yes I would!" Cyrus yelled back. "And I will do this to many more as well! All because of you!" Ash stood up and charged Cyrus.

_Dawn patted the spot next to her. Ash climbed into her bed._

Cyrus dodged and punched Ash right in the face. Ash growled and landed a punch to Cyrus' ear. His ear started bleeding. Cyrus hit a button on the remote and the TV screen went black.

"_Thank you." Dawn mumbled as Ash wrapped an arm around her._

"Wha-" Ash wondered as Cyrus dodged another punch. Why did he turn the TV off?

"_I will always be here for you. No need to worry." A smile spread across her face within a millisecond. _

Suddenly, Ash heard a loud boom in the distance. Ash froze.

"_That's when I worry most." Dawn whispered as her eyes slowly closed._

Cyrus punched Ash and Ash fell to the ground, still in shock. Ash could feel his nose throbbing. Cyrus took out a knife and roughly grabbed Ash's shirt by the neck and pulled him up. Cyrus then pushed the knife to Ash's throat.

_Ash kissed Dawn softly on the forehead and held her tighter._

"I would watch what you do kid!" Cyrus said as he dug the knife deeper into Ash's neck.

"_Goodnight Dawn…I…I love you." Ash sputtered out with a smile on his face._

That night was 5 weeks ago. 4 weeks ago is when Ash and Dawn got together for sure. But that was the past and this was now.

"What did you do?" Ash choked out. Cyrus laughed.

"For me to know and for you to find out." Cyrus removed the knife and hit Ash on his head. He was knocked out. Cyrus grumbled some cruses and called some guards over. He told them what to do and they agreed. Ash didn't have his hat either.

He gave that to his girlfriend too.


	2. Chapter Two

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Two- Fire

Dawn held Ash's hat in her hands. Prinplup and Pikachu were sitting next to her, looking at the hat with pain in their eyes. They were there too when it had happened. Ash had given it to her the night before he was captured.

_2 weeks ago…_

_Ash, Dawn and Brock were just coming back from diner. Ash was securely holding onto Dawn's hand. He wasn't letting anyone touch her. They were heading back to their room in the Pokémon center. The reason Ash was being so over protective was because Team Galactic had been acting up lately. They have been becoming stronger and stronger. They were not the causal bad guys anymore. They were worse. The last time they had a run in with them, they barely got away with their Pokémon. That was only a week ago. Brock was the first one to start up a conversation. _

"_So Ash, what's next?" Ash laughed. _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean what are we all going to do next?" Ash hadn't thought of that. They rounded a corner and they were now feet away from the Pokémon center. _

"_I really don't know Brock. I have never thought of that…" Ash trailed off in thought as they entered the Pokémon center. Brock said their names to Nurse Joy and at the same time he also went nuts and started saying love stuff to her. Dawn laughed quietly and she didn't notice because he was still in deep thought. Dawn pulled Ash to their room with Brock in tow. He didn't get jabbed this time…weird but still. They entered the room and Brock unloaded his bag. Dawn did the same and Ash just sat on Dawn's bed. (Kinda their bed but…) Dawn toke note of Ash and sat next to him. _

"_Ash what's wrong?" She asked in a worried tone. Ash didn't respond. "ASH!" Dawn yelled, making both Ash and Brock jump. Ash snapped out of this and asked a confused what. Brock muttered to himself and went into the bathroom. "What's wrong?" Dawn asked again. Ash sighed and then stood up. _

"_Come on. I want to show you something. Brock we are going out!" Ash yelled the last part to Brock and he just said okay. Pikachu was already snoring on the bed. Ash couldn't bring Pikachu with them. Ash grabbed Dawn's hand and they headed out the door. _

"_Ash…where are we going?" Dawn asked. Ash didn't answer. They walked halfway across the city and then they were meant by a lone bench in the park by itself in a different corner than everything else. They both sat down and Ash pointed up at the sky. _

"_We are here because this is the best spot in the city to see the stars." Dawn looked up and gasped in awe. The stars were arranged in such a beautiful pattern that Dawn was in awe with. "Dawn…" Dawn looked over and saw Ash with his hat in his hands. He locked eyes with her. "If anything ever happens to me, take my hat and Pikachu." Dawn couldn't shut her mouth. _

"_Wha-What?" She sputtered, confused. _

"_With Team Galactic acting up and getting more dangerous and stuff…just trust me." _

"_Ash, you can't just give me Pikachu. Or your hat. They are the only thing you have left at home." Ash looked away. "No…my hat is the only thing I have left of my father. Pikachu is my only thing left of home." _

"_But-"_

"_Dawn," Ash locked eyes with her again. "Promise me you will do what I say if we get stuck in something."_

"_I promise." Dawn said. Ash smiled. He pulled Pikachu's ball out of his pocket. The lightning bolt glinted in the moonlight. If Pikachu would have come, Pikachu would have disagreed with everything Ash had just said. Ash gently told Dawn to hold out her hand. She did as she was told and held out her hand. Ash placed the pokeball in it and Dawn grasped it. _

"_Thank you." Ash said as he handed her his hat. Dawn stuck Pikachu's ball in her pocket next to Piplup's and put Ash's hat on top of her head. Ash smiled and he leaned in for a kiss…_

"Dawn! Breakfast!" Johanna called from downstairs. Dawn looked up from the hat in her hands and looked towards the door.

"Okay, be there in a minute mom!" Dawn looked back at the hat. It still looked like it was brand new. Even after all it has been though.

"Pika," Pikachu nudged Dawn and she looked at the yellow Pokémon.

"Your right. Let's go eat."

"Prin!" Prinplup said in agreement. Dawn headed down the stairs with Pikachu on her shoulder and Prinplup right behind her. Dawn was greeted by steaming hot pancakes on the table and TONS of syrup.

"Wow mom! Why pancakes? I thought you made them for special occasions only?" Johanna sighed as Dawn sat down across the table from her.

"Well…last night you just seem so depressed because of Ash…so I decided to brighten the mood. We all need an up-lifter after everything." Dawn nodded. Last night, everything just crashed into her like a truck.

"Thanks mom!" Dawn answered, hiding the hints of sorrow in her voice.

* * *

After Dawn finished eating, she went back upstairs to her room and sat slowly back down on her bed. She grasped Ash's hat back in her hands and Pikachu sat next to her, remembering. They all remembered what had happened the next day.

_Ash and Dawn got back to their room to be meant by a sleeping Brock and an angry Pikachu. _

"_PIKA!" Pikachu shouted. The comment was directed at Ash. _

"_Okay, sorry we left you here Pikachu but if you would have come; we would not be best friends right now…"_

"_Chu, chu!"_

"_I know, I promise I will never leave you again." Ash said as he bended down to Pikachu's level. Pikachu crossed its arms and looked away. "Come on buddy." Ash urged. Pikachu looked at Ash again. His hand was outstretched and Ash had a pleading look on his face too. Dawn had gone to the bathroom to get changed. _

"_Pika…chu." Pikachu huffed and jumped on Ash instead. Ash laughed quietly. _

"_Thanks buddy and I will promise I will never leave you again." _

They all jumped at the voice of Johanna.

"DAWN! Come down here now! It's about Ash!" Dawn bolted out of bed with the two Pokémon hot on her tail. The memory sparked Pikachu to life more when Ash was captured. Why? He promised to always be there and he left. Not left. But broke his promise.

Dawn had Ash's hat clutched in her hands.

_Ash got changed once Dawn came out and they both climbed in bed with Pikachu sleeping on the end. The next morning, Ash was awoken by the sound of…stomping? Ash quickly jumped out of bed, knocking Pikachu off in the process. He went out onto the balcony and looked at the streets below. He gasped at what he saw and quickly went back inside. He started putting on his clothes at record speed. Dawn and Brock both sat up in bed and were looking at Ash like he was crazy._

_He looked at them both and that one look was all it took for Brock and Dawn to start getting dressed. A few minutes later, they were following Ash though the empty streets. Ash lead them to where the stomping was taking lace and they were meant with over 100 Team Galactic grunts. And Cyrus in the lead. He saw the kids and everything froze at that moment. _

_The world had stopped spinning._

Dawn saw her mom at the TV screen. Johanna turned around and dragged the three over to the TV screen. What they saw…made their hearts' shrivel out.

"_We meet again kids." Cyrus said with that devil of a voice he had. Ash and Pikachu got ready to attack. _

"_Where is everyone!?" Ash yelled his voice overtaken by the voice of fury. The blue haired demon laughed. _

"_Captured or inside their pathetic houses." Just him saying that made Ash's blood boil. _

"_Let them go!" _

"_And why would I do that?" Ash stayed quiet. Cyrus laughed. "What kid? Growthine caught your tongue?"_

"_What will it take for you to let all of these people go?" Cyrus pondered this. _

"_You." He pointed to the one person in their group they never thought would be picked._

On the TV were three bold lines of writing.

**Want to see your famous 'Ash Ketchum' again?**

**If you want to see his last moments alive,**

**Go to Jublife City and be there before noon.**

_Cyrus had pointed to Dawn. Ash quickly grabbed her hand and Pikachu growled. _

"_PIKA, PIKA CHU!" Pikachu bellowed. It knew how much Dawn meant to Ash. Cyrus laughed at Pikachu's pathetic attempts of bravery. _

"_Give me the girl or the whole city will burn down in flames." Cyrus finished. Ash glared at Cyrus. _

"_Why do you want Dawn?" Cyrus smirked, knowing this question was going to arise soon. _

"_That girl will lead me to the legend." Ash looked dumbstruck. Dawn took a glance at Ash as well, just to see what his expression was. Her stomach dropped when she saw his point-blank expression. Ash squeezed Dawn's hand reassuringly. _

"_What legend?" He asked darkly. Cyrus' eyes bounced out of his head. _

"_Y-you never heard of the legend?" The three teens shook their heads. Cyrus almost burst. "How do you…__everyone __knows the legend fools!" He bellowed, making Dawn flinch. Ash squeezed her hand again to calm her down. She squeezed back. Cyrus let out a breath and then looked Ash right in the eye. "The legend states that there once was a Growthine that was known as 'Dark Flame' or 'Dark Fire' in all of the regions. Legend says that once this pup was born, the world would either bow down to it's master or live in peace for eternity." He turned on his heel and looked up to the sky, remembering the great Team Galactic leader that harnessed this power. _

_Alex Foul. _

_He was the one to figure out how to control the darkness. Cyrus continued. "We wanted to find that dog. So back 100 years ago, we were still growing. We needed that power to make us unstoppable. Our past leaders looked and searched through every nook, hole and cranny in the world until one day we found what we were searching for." Ash listened carefully but still glared at Cyrus' back. "80 years ago, we were searching through a forest. Some grunts spotted a Growthine and they knew it was worth a try to see if it was the one. They set the forest on fire and rescued the pup." Ash took a step towards Cyrus and Dawn still held his hand. _

"_You set a forest on fire to-" _

"_Shut up boy and let me finish." Cyrus turned around and snapped. Ash closed his mouth for the mere protection of his friends. Brock saw Ash try to move forward again but Dawn stopped him. "The leader at that time-Alex Foul- had found what we had been searching for. He had found the legend. So, he trained the dog and made it more powerful than Arceus itself. But, one day the darkness controlling the dog broke and the dog got away." Cyrus looked directly at Dawn. "The dog is still alive now." The three teens gasped. Cyrus smiled. "Foul give it a serum and it made the Pokémons immortal…just like a legendary." The words rolled off his tongue like drops of heaven. _

_The teens stayed quiet. "And to answer your question, that girl has a strong dark aura about her. She would lead us to the Growthine. So, hand her over." Everyone stayed quiet for a few moments. Ash thought of what he could do to stop this in his head. Then it suddenly clicked._

The clock above the TV said 11:34. Dawn gasped. She returned Prinplup to its ball and darted out the door before Johanna could say anything. With Pikachu on her shoulder and Ash's hat tucked on her head, she called out Togekiss.

"Toge, toge!" The Pokémon chirped, but its happy attitude disappeared once it saw its trainer close to tears. Dawn smiled weakly at the Pokémon.

"We have to get to Jublife city and FAST. Do you think you think ou can do it?"

"Kiss, Togekiss!" Dawn nodded her head and her and Pikachu jumped on Togekiss. Then, they were off.

"_Take me." Ash pronounced, shocking everyone but Cyrus. He smiled. _

"_Want to protect his girlfriend eh?" Ash stepped forward. _

"_Yes, now deal?"_

"_Hmm…" Cyrus closed his eyes. The, he opened them suddenly. "His aura is stronger then the girl's…" He uttered to himself. "Grab him." Ash quickly turned to dawn and kissed her with all of the drive he had left. He then placed his hat on top of her head. _

"_Love you." He quickly whispered as the grunts gabbed his arms. _

"_Love you too." Dawn murmured more to herself than Ash. But he heard her and smiled. Cyrus snapped his fingers at the smile and the grunt on the right of Ash kicked him in the gut. Ash doubled over in pain. Brock held tightly onto Dawn's shoulder so that she wouldn't run after him. "Ash!" Dawn yelled. Ash held his head up for a second and flashed his famous grin again. Cyrus hated this. He whispered something into a grunt's ear and the grunt nodded. That same grunt came up to Ash and picked up a hard rock from the ground. _

_The grunt smashed it on Ash's head and his smile disappeared. Ash fell to the pavement, knocked out. Cyrus bowed to Brock and Dawn and turned. All 100 plus grunts followed his lead and turned. They stomped away, two grunts dragging Ash away. _

_And all Dawn could do was watch. Brock let her cry into his chest as the grunts slowly disappeared._

Dawn always blamed herself that she was the reason why Ash was captured. She was the wild fire that spread fast. Little did she know, fires can be stopped.


	3. Chapter Three

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Three-Guilt

Ash kept waking up and blacking out. That last hit he took was the final straw…literately. He might've been built, but being slapped, cut and etc. took a LOT out of you. Ash felt ropes being tied around his wrists. Then, he felt himself being dragged. He blacked out again.

* * *

Upstairs. Turn. Turn. Turn. Creaking of a door. The sun on his skin. He got dragged through a puddle.

* * *

A bucket of water poured on his face. His eyes still didn't want to open. Then, he heard the clank of a knife sliding out of its pocket. Ash heard an echo of gasps. He hadn't heard that in a long time…the last time he heard that was in his last battle. That meant…there was an audience.

_That can't be good_, Ash thought with doubt. His eyes still would open as he felt the cold blade of the knife push against his cheek. Ash could feel the knife getting pushed deeper and deeper into his skin. Then, he felt something wet start to run do his cheek. The warm liquid took a left and ran into Ash's mouth. Ash could taste the blood. Then, the knife suddenly left his cheek and the audiences gasp again. Ash opened his eyes. He was on his knees in front of a huge amount of people. His hands were tied by rope behind his back. Ash could feel people behind him too. He turned his head and saw some grunts and Cyrus holding the knife up. Ash regretted turning around because then a grunt hit him in the middle of hid back.

Some cries could be heard from the crowd. Ash started to scan the crowd. He saw all of the gym leaders of Sinnoh, Cynthia the champion, Brock, Paul and more. He couldn't find Dawn though. He didn't see Pikachu either. His heart dropped to his feet.

_They killed her_, he thought with guilt. He didn't stop looking through the crowd though.

Dawn and Togekiss flew at high speed though the chilly morning air. Pikachu was on her shoulder, used to flying because of his travels with Ash and Charizard. Jublife city appeared in the distance. Dawn's mind kept rewinding to that memory.

'_Dark Fire'_.

Maybe…no. she wouldn't think that. She wouldn't think they did _**that**_to him. Dawn's face didn't brighten. She was finally going to see her boyfriend, but she wasn't happy about it. Why? What if he looked horrible?

What if he changed? What if they had changed him? Dawn shook her head and Pikachu noticed. Pikachu rubbed its cheek against Dawn's. Dawn turned and smiled weakly at the mouse Pokémon.

"We are almost there Pikachu…I just hope he didn't…change." Pikachu nodded sadly.

"Pika,pia,chu,pika." Pikachu said. Dawn understood Pikachu like one of her own Pokémon.

"But how can you be sure that he didn't change Pikachu? He's Ash. He can be bull headed at a lot of times."

"Chu! Pika, pika chu! Pikachu!" Pikachu said with drive in his voice.

"But…what if they forced him for our safety? Then he would have done it for sure!" Pikachu went silent for a few minutes. They were above the entrance to Jublife city now. Dawn was searching for a crowd or anything. Pikachu spoke again.

"Chu, pika. Pikachu, pika." Dawn stopped looking and looked at Pikachu. Pikachu smiled slightly, knowing he got through to Dawn. Dawn brought out Prinplup to help look.

"Thanks Pikachu."

"Pikachu." Pikachu chirped.

"Prin!" Prinplup yelled proudly. Dawn looked at her blue Pokémon.

"Look for Ash Prinplup." The blue Pokémon nodded and they all started searching again.

* * *

After searching for a few minutes, they saw the sight they were dreading to see. A big crowd around a small raised platform. Dawn gasped.

"Togekiss! Head down there!"

"Kiss!" The love Pokémon headed downwards and landed in the back. Dawn returned Togekiss and with Pikachu on her shoulder and Prinplup at her side plus Ash's hat clutched tightly in her hands, she ran towards the front.

Ash had searched the whole crowd and did not see Dawn or Pikachu anywhere. He completely blocked out what Cyrus was saying, he didn't hear anything. Then, he saw some people in the front get pushed out of the way, Brock actually. Brock turned around and gasped and Ash's mouth fell open. There next to Brock and in the front of the crowd was Dawn with Pikachu on her shoulder and Prinplup at her side. The three of their faces spread to smiles and Pikachu plus Prinplup were about to talk, but Dawn put her hands over the Pokémons' mouths.

Ash smiled. And the crowd saw it. The people, who were there just because they wanted to see what was happening, were confused at why the boy was smiling. Ash's friends knew why though. All of his friends' face's straightened out and some even gave a full smile. Cyrus saw this and frowned. He stopped his speech suddenly and looked at Ash. He couldn't figure out why the boy was smiling. Cyrus smiled again.

_The boy won't be smiling for too much longer_ he mused as he started up his speech again. The world had stopped spinning once again for Ash. _**She wasn't dead**_, kept repeating itself in Ash's head. Dawn was wearing her same clothes get-up from before. Ash locked eyes with Dawn for a second and she now smiled back. Then, Ash's eyes locked onto Pikachu. Pikachu looked more mature than the last time Ash saw him. He was proud of his Pokémon. His Pokémon had stayed strong and helped Dawn though her depression the whole time he was gone. Just like with the picture. They had helped each other out. Ash knew that he would be giving Pikachu a BIG bottle of ketchup when they got out of this-just for being strong.

Ash's eyes drifted to Prinplup who was staring angrily at Cyrus. Ash had always been there for Dawn when one of her Pokémon evolved. He was always there for all of his friends when one of their Pokémon evolved. So this was the **first time in his life** that he missed one of friend's Pokémon evolving. Prinplup looked like Pikachu. More mature and even stronger. Then, the raven-haired boy looked at Brock. Brock still looked the same, just more like an adult. Brock had a hand on Dawn's shoulder, just to make sure she didn't take a run for it.

Because Brock and Ash both knew she would try. Dawn looked at Ash. He still had on the same clothes from the last time she saw him, but his jacket was tattered and close to falling off. His white undershirt was intact, but the bottom of it was ripped. Ash's jeans looked the same and he still had shoes. His gloves were gone through too. His hair was crazier than ever and his eyes still burned with fight. Dawn knew that much. Ash was still built, that meant they had been feeding him…lucky for them. Ash still had his drive, he still had his fire. Which meant he could still fight. It meant that he could still fight though everything-even if Dark Fire itself couldn't.

Cyrus finished his speech. Everyone but Dawn and Ash noticed. Cyrus snickered. "Any last words boy?" He asked Ash who snapped of his love bird daze and looked at Cyrus with venom bubbling out of him. "That's what I thought." Cyrus took out his knife and threw it at Ash. A girl's voice rang out though the crowd and reached Ash's ears. He smiled knowing that his time wasn't done yet.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"


	4. Chapter Four

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Four- Thunderbolt Part One

The thunderbolt avoided all of the people and stuck the knife. The knife fell to the ground, inches before Ash. Ash looked away from Cyrus and saw Pikachu in a fighting stance in front of Dawn. Cyrus also locked eyes with Dawn.

"Why you…!" Cyrus looked at the goons behind him. "ATTACK!" He bellowed. All of the grunts called out one of their Pokémon. Ash quickly looked behind him to see over 100 Pokémon in fighting stance some even running, right towards him. Then he heard echoes of voices in front of him. He turned back around to see that everyone had fled expect for the gym leaders, elite members, Cynthia, Brock, Dawn, Paul and all of his friends or people that he knew. They all called out two Pokémon each and soon, there were Pokémon on either side of Ash. He was right in the middle of it ALL.

"Pikachu! Volt Tackle!" Dawn yelled and Pikachu started heading towards the running Pokémon. Ash saw Pikachu smile at him as the yellow bundle darted past him. Ash smiled back and then heard all of the other trainers call out attacks. All of the Pokémon started heading towards each other. Ash then felt someone hug him. He looked up and saw Dawn. Ash's mind kept screaming in joy. "Ash…" She muttered to his ear. Ash smiled into her shoulder.

"Dawn… I missed you too but can't you untie me first?" Dawn pulled back quickly and Ash chuckled at her face expression. Dawn called Prinplup to get over there and he did.

"Prinplup use Drill Peck!"

"Plup!" Ash closed his eyes and felt the ropes around his wrists fall of gracefully. Ash opened his eyes and slowly stood up. Dawn plowed into him. Ash wrapped his arms around Dawn's waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ash didn't let his smile weary.

"Dawn, I missed you so much…you don't even know…" Ash trailed off in thought. Dawn gently pecked his lips. He snapped out of it. Ash saw tears in her eyes. He knew what was coming on. So, he did the only thing that he knew would calm both of them down. He gently pushed his lips against her's. She kissed back; she had been waiting for this kiss all of her life. Sparks lit up and it felt like to both of them that fireworks were going off in their bodies. They now weren't ripped in two. They were mended. The only thing that made them pull away was someone shouting to them. Ash pulled away first and looked behind Dawn to see Brock saying something. Ash tuned himself back in.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" Reached Ash's ears and he removed himself from Dawn's embrace. He looked her in the eye. She knew that look. Ash took Dawn's hand and nodded. She nodded back and they both ran. They ran to Brock. Brock waved his hand at them as he fought though the wave of people on their side. Ash noticed Prinplup dashing with great speed behind them and saw no Pikachu. He let go of Dawn's hand and turned. Dawn and Brock stopped and tried grabbing Ash, but he wouldn't allow it. He wasn't giving up Pikachu. Ash ran back the way he came. And as he came to the front of the side, all he saw in front of him was battles. Good vs. evil, emotion clashing together like fire and ice. Everyone giving all they had. Then a loud squeak reached everyone's ears. Ash knew that 'squeak'. It was a shout of pain. From his partner. Ash looked up and on the stage he was just on a few seconds ago was Cyrus holding Pikachu by his tail.

"STOP!" He bellowed. Ash's body pulsed with rage. Everyone stopped, once again under the rule of Cyrus. He held all of the cards again. _Like he always does_, Ash thought with bitterness. Cyrus held a knife to Pikachu. Everyone stayed quiet. They all knew who's Pikachu that was. They all knew that Pikachu meant no harm, and how he only wanted equal-ness for both sides. Pikachu could never achieve that goal though, no matter how many times he tried. "So, you are going to end a Pokémon's life for your own ruthful needs?" Nothing moved. Dawn and Brock had caught up to Ash and Dawn grabbed his arm.

"You are not going up there Ash!" She demanded in a whisper. Ash's smile finally left his face. He pulled his arm out of Dawn's grip and charged. He almost made it to Cyrus, if the two grunts didn't grab his arms and hold him back. Ash tried to fight them though. It didn't work out though. Of course the two toughest grunts had to be in front of Cyrus. Cyrus looked at Ash as Pikachu scrambled to get out of the evil man's grasp. Cyrus held onto Pikachu's tail slighter.

"So…this is your Pikachu…isn't it?" Ash growled.

"Let him go! He didn't do anything!"

"Oh," Cyrus laughed. "But he did."

"What?" Ash shouted. Cyrus pointed at Ash. The two grunts tugged him towards the stage. Dawn tried to run to Ash, but Brock held her back. Cyrus' smile turned into a twisted smirk.

"He's your Pokémon isn't he?" One person answered Cyrus question. Ash turned quickly and the guard on the right of him kicked him.

"Pikachu isn't just Ash's Pokémon." Cyrus looked pissed.

"Who said that?!" He angrily shouted. No one answered him. The grunts got Ash to the stage and that's when Ash took his attempt at escape. He kicked the one grunt in the stomach and the other he pushed into the crowd of grunts. Ash turned back and started running at Cyrus. The people listening stayed silent as Ash seethed with anger. Cynthia stepped forward.

"Pikachu isn't just Ash's Pokémon. Pikachu has saved us all and gave us all warmth. He had brought peace to more than one region and is everyone's friend. So how dare you say that Pikachu is just…just…" Cynthia was now shaking with anger. Four grunts tackled Ash just as he was about to reach Cyrus. "Just a _POKEMON_! Pikachu is more than that! And we all know it!" She shouted her emotions now blinded by anger. Paul nodded in his place next to Cynthia, but his lips were still pressed into a thin line. Paul didn't hate Ash, but he didn't think of Ash like a brother either. Ash was just…Ash. No one would be able to be able to gain the ranks to Ash's level. Yeah, Ash seemed like a kid every time he started a new journey but that was the fun of it. Paul knew that too. Paul knew Ash was strong from the first time they battled, even if it was a pathetic battle or just plain dumb.

Ash was smarter than anyone ever took him for, and only a true rival would know that. Paul did. Garry did too. Ash always seemed like the easy kid to beat, but in turn…all he would do is hold back his strength.

Ash was _**already**_ a Pokémon Master. All of the bad guys knew that and so did most of his friends. The world didn't. Paul shook his head slowly, trying to push this emotional speech thing out of his mind…but it didn't work. Paul sighed and looked back up at the stage. His thoughts were broken when he saw what was happening.

"Not just a Pokémon eh?" Cyrus mused this as the grunts pushed Ash into a sitting position. "Well," Cyrus threw the knife without warning. Dawn tried to get there before it hit its target but, was too late. "That's the problem."


	5. Chapter Five

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Five- Thunderbolt Part Two

**The knife had no mind, no emotion, and no fear of what pain it caused. Every knife used on someone or something was the same. The same boring old mind. The same boring old thoughts. No one thought much of the knife; it was supposed to be a kitchen utensil, not a killing machine. Only the cruelest of the human race would kill with the knife. Butcher knives were most feared because of their size. Steak-cutting knives in second because of their sharp edge. If even a point of the blade touches another human, Arceus instantly bands the first human that was the one to guide the knife to touch another. **

**What is the human banned from? **

**The world Arceus created with his power, the world of all white. The world with all power. The realm that couldn't be over run. The place where every good person went. No evil was allowed in this place of white. Not a soul that did evil was allowed. Arceus wouldn't have that in his perfect world. Even the best would get to meet him. Arceus, the creator of this world. The creator of Pokémon. For those that didn't believe in the legend…Arceus gave them a second chance. A second chance to believe. **

**So, never kill another. **

**Never hurt another. **

**Never play with knifes.**

* * *

Everyone watched in fear as the knife glided through the air smoothly, like a stealth missile. The knife lunged itself into Ash's shoulder. Ash fell back to the ground in pain. He quickly pulled the knife out of his arm and threw it on the ground next to him. Blood was dripping from the knife like poison. He gripped his shoulder. Cyrus still had a hold of Pikachu, but now no knife. Ash opened his eyes and ignored the red hot pain the wound was causing him. He stood up and headed towards Cyrus again. Four grunts tackled Ash to the ground and Dawn gasped. Ash felt red hot pain as one of the grunts brushed his hand against the gash.

Ash held in his cry.

After some more struggling, the grunts had Ash in their control one again. They hoisted him on his feet and pushed him over next to were Cyrus was standing. The grunts didn't leave him there though. They knew he would try to escape again, so the four of them stood there. Ears perked and eyes alert for any movement from the weary but strong boy. Ash grunted. Dawn tried to run forward again and so did Prinplup. But, Brock held Dawn back and Sudowoodo held back Prinplup. Dawn turned and looked at Brock once she felt his strong grip on her arm. Her eyes were pleading. Brock sadly shook his head. Dawn shook her head quickly and then looked at Brock again.

"Brock! He needs help!" She yelled, catching everyone by surprise. Cyrus had a comeback for what she had said to Brock too.

"He does need help girl," Cyrus spat, causing Dawn to turn around and glare. Ash was looking at the ground.

"I wasn't talking to you, you freaking a-" Ash suddenly flicked his head up and gave Dawn a stern look. That look meant _'don't finish that sentence'_. Dawn looked at Ash for a few more seconds and then turned and looked at the ground quickly and then finished her thought, ignoring her boyfriend's stern look. "You freaking ass!" Ash would have smacked himself in his face if he could have moved his hands.

"Damn Dawn…" He muttered which earned him a smirk from Dawn and a kick from the grunt behind him.

"Shut up!" The grunt whispered harshly with his rash voice. Ash rolled his eyes. Cyrus looked like he needed popcorn.

"Anyway, shut up girl and let me talk!" Dawn looked shocked for a moment and didn't answer. She didn't know a comeback for that…Brock pulled her towards him, knowing she was going to kill Cyrus with her bare hands any second.

"Dawn, stop it." He muttered into her ear. "The more you talk, the more he will do to Ash and Pikachu." Dawn hadn't thought of that. She turned and nodded; her face solemn with no emotion. Ash looked back at the ground again. Cyrus looked at the bored Ash.

"So, Ash, would you like to die first or you're Pikachu?" Ash's eyes didn't leave the ground. "I need an answer Ashy boy." Gary shot to the front of the crowd, his Blastoise right at his side.

"Don't call him that!" Gary shouted, causing the people next to him to flinch and everyone else to stare. Cyrus smiled curtly.

"Why not?" He turned to Gary and Gary sucked in a tight breath. 'Why not' echoed though Gary's mind. There were a lot of reasons why only Gary called Ash that. And one reason was the most important…

_Gary watched from the window of his room as Ash played outside with his dad. Ash was six. And Ash had someone to play with. Gary had no one expect for his grandfather. And little kids don't really 'play' with their grandfathers because it's boring to them. Gary sighed. His father used to play with him a lot too. But, that was the past. Gary's parents were gone and that was that. But, Gary did want a friend. But then another though struck him. What if Ash didn't want to play with him? _

_What if Ash ignored him? What if he was mean to him? Gary buried his face in his hands. He had no friends here because all of the other kids thought he was strange. They thought it was strange that Gary lived with his grandfather and always was quiet in school. Gary was alone in this world; the only person with him was his grandfather. Gary heard his door opening. He quickly jumped on his bed and lay on his back. He didn't want his grandfather seeing him pitiful. Professor Oak opened the door slowly and walked in. Oak took a seat in Gary's desk chair and smiled the best he could. _

"_Gary, why don't you go outside? It's very nice out today." Gary just shook his head. Gary didn't talk much to anyone these days either. "Gary," Oak put a hand on Gary's shoulder. Gary looked at Oak with a frown. "Why don't you try and make a new friend?" Gary rolled on his side. "Come on. You are just too shy." Oak looked out the window. "Why not make friends with Ash? He is always looking for new friends." See, Ash was always the most talked about kid in school. Everybody loved him. Not because he was mean or anything. (He never was.) But just simply because he was nice to everyone. _

"_No." Gary mumbled. Oak sighed. _

"_Okay but please if you get the urge, go outside and run around or something." Gary nodded and Oak left the room. Gary then walked slowly over to the window. Ash was throwing the ball back to his dad. His dad caught the ball and laughed. Gary saw his mouth form the words 'Nice throw'. Gary let out a puff of air. He flopped back onto his bed. _

"_Arceus, what do I do?" He mumbled. Then, a burst of air opened his window. Gary looked be withered as he headed towards the window. Another breath of air came through the window. Gary took a breather and closed his eyes. He opened them and smiled. He ran out the door and walked over to Ash's house. But, as he got closer, his fears kicked in again. What if- _

"_Hey son!" A deep voice called. Gary shook himself out of his thoughts and saw Ash's father waving Gary over. Ash was looking at Gary with a smile on his face. Gary stood there for another moment and then slowly walked over. Ash and his father meant him halfway. "Gary is it?" Gary nodded. "Well, do you want to play? I need to go run to the Pokemart real quick and Ashy-boy here needs someone to play with." Ash's face drained all color. _

"_Dad! Don't call me that!" Ash's father chuckled. _

"_So, Gary, what do you say?" Gary looked between Ash and his father. _

"_Sure." He answered with a smile. Ash's father grinned and Ash ran backwards. Ash threw the ball as his father walked off. Gary caught the ball with ease. Ash smiled. Gary's face lit up. _

"_Can't you do any better than that Ashy-boy?" _

Cyrus' voice snapped Gary out of his thoughts. Cyrus continued.

"What, are you scared for your little rival Gary?" Gary clenched his teeth. Ash looked up from the ground. Gary saw this and glanced over at his rival. Ash let the fire in his eyes tell Gary what he was thinking. Gary quickly understood and did as Ash told: to back down. Gary and Ash both knew it was horrible to back down in front of something like this, but Ash told Gary to do this for a reason. Ash didn't want his friend to get hurt because he was simply standing up for him. Ash wouldn't allow that to happen. He was going to take the full force of the fire coming and not let any of his friends get hurt from the aftermath. Gary turned and ran back to his spot, Cyrus smiling in his wake. Ash forced himself to look back at the platform below him.

He wasn't making eye-contact with this beast. Just then, white hot pain shot though Ash's shoulder and he grunted in pain as quietly as he could. It sort-of worked. Cyrus went back to picking on Ash. "So Ash, are you going to die first? Hmm?" Ash didn't move a muscle. Ash heard a grunt of pain come from the yellow mouse Pokémon and his head shot up. Cyrus was playing with Pikachu's tail. Painfully. If any normal person had done this to Pikachu, he would have shocked them. But the reason Pikachu wasn't shocking Ash was because he was too close. Pikachu would defiantly harm Ash if he let Thunderbolt fly. Ash got an idea. He looked at Cyrus.

"If we have to die, can I at least die _holding_ Pikachu?" Brock and Dawn looked at Ash with stern looks. As everyone else tried to figure out what the boy was doing, Brock and Dawn were trying to figure out what plan Ash was hatching. _A dumb plan_, Dawn thought as Cyrus handed Ash the squirming Pikachu. Brock sighed lightly.

_If they die this way, I will __kill__ them later_, he thought. Cyrus went to one of his grunts behind him to see if they had something to kill the two with. Ash brought his mouth to Pikachu's ear. "Use Thunderbolt when Cyrus is close enough and use one big enough to knock ALL of these damn grunts out. Don't knock out any of the good guys though." Pikachu looked up at his master, friend, and partner.

"Pika! Pika, pika, chu! Pikachu!" It mumbled back, not happy with his trainer's decision.

"Pikachu, I know I will get hurt, but I will be fine. I promise." Pikachu shot back an almost instant remark.

"Chu, chu, pikachu, pika!" It whispered-shouted. Ash looked at it's Pokémon's watery eyes.

"Buddy, I know I broke one promise again but I _promise _I will not break another. Please Pikachu." Ash saw Cyrus walking back with something way worse than a knife. "Now or never Pikachu..." Ash whispered to the torn Pokémon. Cyrus turned to them. "And now we say a dreadful goodbye to Ash Ketchum and Pikachu." He shot the pistol. And all of the grunt's Pokémon launched attacks. Hyper-beams, glass pledges, water pledges and fire pledges all merged together to make a blinding light.

The bullet in the front and the colorful pain behind it.

Ash clutched tightly onto Pikachu, knowing that if Pikachu didn't do the attack, he would take of the damage from everything instead of his beloved partner. Ash prepared himself for everything, even if Pikachu made the spilt-decision to do a Thunderbolt. As everything closed on them, bright yellow light shot out around them.

Ash then felt his world fading. He fought to keep his eyes open. He saw shadows loom over him. One of them put a hand on his cheek. Ash's face felt numb. He couldn't feel the warmness of the hand or of the people's hearts around him. He then closed his eyes again. Ash opened his eyes the best he could seconds later to see a shadow lean down and kiss him. He couldn't feel the kiss. He couldn't feel his legs. He couldn't feel his hands. He could only feel his heavy head and even that was beginning to fade. He saw the figure that had just kissed him lean back and sob.

Ash felt the tear land on the one part of his face that wasn't numb. He let one of his own tears fall. He heard one last thing before he blacked out. Someone had mumbled something. It took his fuzzed up mind a few moments more to process the sentence. He decoded it right after he blacked out, too late to say anything else.

"I love you." Repeated in his dark mind.


	6. Chapter Six

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Six Dark

Dawn let out a small sigh. The wood creaked from the weight of her arms. Her heart ached from no form of love. Why all of this? Because her dead boyfriend lay right in front of her. The doctors had been trying to force her out of the room for hours. But, she wasn't going to budge. Brock understood her case and told the doctors, after the 100th millionth try to get her out of the room, to just leave her be. He would carry her out if she wouldn't leave the room the next day. Gary blamed himself, Dawn was just plain devastated, Cynthia wanted to _kill_ Cyrus, and everyone else was just too shocked to speak. No one came in to visit Dawn. Everybody expect Brock thought they wouldn't be able to see the boy's cold lifeless body. Brock came in to try and gently push Dawn out of the dank room, but each try failed. They were going to remove Ash's body the next day, so that was Dawn's deadline. The day she would finally have to give up the love of her life.

She prayed to Mew that Ash was somehow magically alive, but none of the legendries answered her call. Dawn was leaning helplessly on the old brown wooden nightstand next to the hospital bed. She didn't think she could stand to even touch Ash's hand. She thought she would go crazy. So, she didn't try. She just either stared at the floor, thinking about what had happened or just at Ash's paled face. Dawn looked at the small mouse Pokémon by her feet. Pikachu wouldn't look at Ash. He wouldn't look or listen at anything involving Ash. Pikachu was mad about something, as they all summed it up that way.

_Maybe Pikachu was mad about Ash's death_, Dawn thought as her eyes wandered around the room. Dawn shook her head at her own thought. _No, Pikachu would still want to be with Ash_… Dawn lifted her head up and bended down to pick up Pikachu. Pikachu jumped 20 feet into the air. It was shocked that Dawn _moved_. Like…._moved_. Dawn hadn't moved from that spot unless someone was trying to force her out of the room. Dawn chuckled at the Pokémon's shocked body language.

"Sorry Pikachu, I'm like a zombie huh?" Dawn smiled for the first time that day.

"Pika…" Pikachu mumbled back as Dawn set him on the table she used to be leaning on.

"Sorry to wake you Pikachu but I wanted to ask you a question…" Dawn bit her lip. A nervous habit she picked up from her mom. Pikachu perked his ear's up. Dawn bit her lip harder. Pikachu waved his hands.

"Chu! Pikachu!" Dawn laughed quietly.

"Okay, okay. Ill spit it out. Why do you keep avoiding like…"

"Chu?"

"…stuff involving Ash?" Dawn quickly finished, not wanting to make the problem than it already was. Pikachu's body slouched and he out his head down. "Sorry Pikachu that I brought this up…I just wanted to know and-" Pikachu cut her off and explained.

"Pikachu, pika, chu, chu. Pikkkkkkkkka chu." Dawn's eyes widened at Pikachu's expiation.

"So…you are avoiding everything because Ash broke his promise...again?" Pikachu nodded his head. Dawn sighed. "Pikachu…just because he broke his promise doesn't mean you should avoid him. He has been with you since the beginning. You shouldn't just leave him now because he broke a tiny promise." Pikachu looked up at Dawn.

"….chu?"

"Yes Pikachu. Give him back what he gave you. **Be the Pokémon he **_**raised**_** you to **_**be**_." Pikachu looked shocked that Dawn decoded him so quickly. Pikachu smiled and nodded. Then, he did what Dawn never thought he would do. Pikachu went up to Ash's body and cuddled up against his dead cheek. Dawn felt a few tears leak from her eyes. Pikachu looked up at Dawn after a few moments.

"Chu, pika-pika chu. Pika?" Dawn gasped sharply at Pikachu's words. _Why don't you do it?_ Pikachu had said with sadness in his voice. Dawn shook her head very quickly.

"Pikachu…I will _break down_…." Pikachu wasn't taking no for an answer. Pikachu jumped back over to Dawn and started pulling on her hand. Dawn got up and let the little mouse pull her towards the body of her beloved. Dawn was right next to Ash and Pikachu hope back onto his body.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said pointing to Ash's hand. Dawn looked shaken and unsure of what to do. "Pika!" Pikachu pushed. Dawn reached her hand for Ash's and her mind flashbacked to what had happened after Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

_The square was engulfed by a bright light. Everyone shielded their eyes as the Thunderbolt collided with the other attacks. The other attacks started to overrun Pikachu's and Pikachu started to give up. But then, Ash's words repeated in Pikachu's head. _

"_I promise." Echoed though the Pokémon's brain. _

"_Chu….PIKACHU! PIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK KKKKKKKA!" The yellow of the Thunderbolt overcame everything else and yellow filled the sky. Then, everything faded at once. Bodies fell to the ground in powerful thumps. All of the friends looked at each other as the grunts fell in numbers. Cyrus was the last to fall, the gun clacking onto the pavement in front of him. Everyone's eyes locked onto Ash, who was holding onto the yellow mouse. His eyes were closed and his legs finally gave out. Everyone except for the elite four and Officer Jenny surrounded the fallen boy. Brock took Pikachu out of his hands and Dawn pushed to the front of the crowd. _

"_Ash!" She yelled. She saw his eyes open slowly, but his mouth didn't make any movements. Officer Jenny called in backup and the little group started cleaning up the grunt's knocked out bodies. Cyrus was only knocked out too. "ASH!" Brock tried, hoping his louder voice would spark something instead. Still, no response or movement. Pikachu looked at his trainer, his eyes filling with tears. Dawn leaned down and put a hand on Ash's face. _

_Nothing. Pikachu jumped shakily from Brock's arms and landed on his side, Brock trying to lift the poor Pokémon up again. Pikachu scrambled away from Brock and up to it's friend. Pikachu put it's head against Ash's chest. Nothing. Dawn leaned down and kissed Ash, hoping that would spark something. _

_Still, stillness. _

Dawn's hand slowly proceeded towards Ash's body. She was shaking like a leaf. Pikachu was there though to help her, to encourage her. Her hand inched towards Ash's.

"_Dawn, move over." Came Gary's voice from behind her. Dawn did as she was told. Gary was sort of a doctor after all. Dawn let one tear fall as Gary made his way in front of her. Dawn as saw Ash leak a tear as well. Gary inspected Ash and then his face went pale. Everybody instantly knew something was wrong by the look on Gary's face. _

"_Gary! What's wrong?" Dawn shouted, making everyone jump. Gary turned slowly to Dawn. _

"_He-he…" Gary never stumbled on his words._

Dawn's hand touched Ash's. She wanted to pull it back, but something stopped her.

_Brock put a hand on Gary's shoulder. _

"_Calm down." Gary slowly nodded. He let out a shaken breath. He finished his sentence and everyone there almost fainted._

Dawn saw Pikachu, paw on top of her hand. Dawn looked at Pikachu and he smiled. Dawn held in her tears.

_Gary the remove where his hand was over Ash's chest and Dawn gasped at the sight. There was a burn that had melted Ash's remains of his white t-shirt and seared his skin. That was the spot he had clutched onto Pikachu tight. And it had costed him. The burn was in a lumpy circle shape and it was from the top of his chest (right before his neck) to the middle of his chest. That image would stain Dawn's mind forever. The sentence replayed in Dawn's head 20 times as Kenny, Brock, and two police officers carried Ash away on a stretcher. Dawn didn't move from her spot on the ground. Gary was sitting in front of her, playing with his hands. Gary stood up a few seconds later, seeming surprising fine. Dawn didn't move a muscle at this. Gary, instead of walking away, walked up to Dawn. He crouched in front of her. Dawn looked up, tears streaking down her face. Gary had on a sad smile. He moved to sit next to her and wrapped an arm around her slouched shoulders. _

"_Dawn, I'm sorry." Was the first thing out of the old rival's mouth. Dawn nodded. Ash had told her all about his battles with Gary. But, Ash always said that he looked up to Gary like a brother. "Dawn," Gary started again. Dawn turned and looked at him. Her tear-stained face broke his heart. "He-" _

"_He looked up to you." Dawn interrupted. She knew they were both talking about the same person. Gary's face was shocked. _

"_Wh-hat?" He stuttered, surprised that after all his teasing…he __looked up__ to him. Dawn turned back and looked at the burnt grass in front of her. The yellow light blinded her mind. _

"_Yes. He told me a few days after we started dating. He told me all about you and your battles and how you were the 'man'." Gary didn't speak. "Gary, after all you said to him, he looked up to you…even I couldn't do that." Gary found his tongue. _

"_I never knew…" _

"_Yeah…" Gary looked at Dawn. He pulled her into a soft hug. Gary felt tears on the back of his dark blue shirt. _

"_Thanks Gary." Gary pulled back and looked at Dawn. He grinned happily. _

"_Now, why are you crying? Ash wouldn't want that would he?" Gary said in a brotherly voice. _

"_It's just…you know…" Dawn trailed off wiping her tears. Gary chuckled. _

"_Hey, if Ash can look up to me after everything I said, then you can promise not to cry for now…right?"_

Dawn squeezed Ash's hand, forgetting the feeling of his soft hand against hers. Her mind drifted back to the memory.

_Dawn smiled. "Yeah, I promise." Gary smiled. _

"_There you go." He said as he helped her up. "Let's go." _

Dawn smiled. Pikachu smiled. Dawn finally understood everything.

_Gary was like the big brother Dawn never had. She was glad she had one now._

"Thanks Pikachu." She whispered.

* * *

Ash woke up surrounded by white and his head throbbing. He sat up slowly and looked around. Bright white everywhere. He stood up, deep in thought about where he was. Then, his last thoughts came to his head.

_He heard one last thing before he blacked out. Someone had mumbled something. It took his fuzzed up mind a few moments more to process the sentence. He decoded it right after he blacked out, too late to say anything else. _

"_I love you." Repeated in his dark mind._

"Where am I?" Ash mumbled to himself. He looked down and saw his body and clothes still looked the same. He then felt a sharp pain come from his chest. He looked down and his eyes became huge at the sight of the burn. The skin was burned and some of it was pink. _Not good_ repeated over and over in his mind. Ash threw off the remains of his jacket and then ripped off his white shirt. He threw both things on the ground and they instantly disappeared into the cloud he was standing on. His heart rate was though the roof and he was panting heavily.

Then, a blinding light surrounded him. It stayed liked that for a few seconds and Ash had to shield his eyes. It quickly disappeared just as soon as it appeared. Ash uncovered his eyes and in front of him, a figure started walking towards him.

"Child, calm down or you will die again." The figure spoke in a calm voice. Ash took a fighting stance. The figure came closer and Ash saw that it had four legs. Ash's defense lowered a bit. The thing let out a calm, gentle giant like laugh. "Child, I am no fiend. I am the creator." The mist left the figure and Ash's eyes widened at the Pokémon in front of him. It was none other than the most powerful Pokémon god in the world, Arceus.

"A-Arceus?" Ash sputtered in amazement. The white Pokémon nodded it's head.

"Yes, it is me. Do not be afraid." The Pokémon walked closer to Ash. Ash lowered his hands. Ash slowly nodded his head.

"Where am I?" Ash asked after looking around once more. Arceus chuckled to himself.

"Do you not remember?" Flashbacks hit Ash like a train. Ash held his head and Arceus frowned.

"Yeah… yeah I remember now…" Ash said, shaken.

"But, how am I here if I am dead?" The Pokémon smiled brightly.

"This is the realm of good. This is the place of white. This is the place where every person can't wait to go." Ash remembered all the tall tales he was told.

"So…I died and my deeds were good enough to come here?" Arceus nodded.

"Yes, your good deeds go way beyond anyone else's. I am here to give you a choice."

"A…choice?"

"Yes child. You see, your death was because you told your Pokémon to kill you to save the world I made. I am in your debut." Ash's face was filled with shock.

"A…god is in _debut_ to _me_?" Ash asked, awe stuck at what he was hearing. The Pokémon nodded.

"So anyway, you can choose. Stay here with me and live all of your dreams and get everything handed to you or be brought back to life and go back to the world." Ash didn't need time to think. He already knew what he was going to do.

"I chose to be brought back to life…please." The Pokémon was perked by his interest in the boy.

"Why do you choose this answer Ash?" Ash sighed and looked up.

"No one will be able to live without. My girlfriend, my mom, all of friends and Pokémon and even Pikachu. I can't leave them, not just yet anyways." The white god smiled again.

"All right then Ash. I will grant your wish. This will take a while though so just close your eyes and dream of everything happy or it will not work." Ash nodded and started to close his eyes. "But Ash, one last thing," Ash opened his eyes again and the Pokémon had dread written over his face. "That demon Cyrus is stronger than we all think. He will be back, and stronger than ever. My aura even tells me that in the near future, he will win control over powerful Pokémon, far more powerful than you think."

"Then why not just stop him now?" He sighed.

"I can't. He has the protection of Mewtwo." Ash realized.

"But…I thought Mewtwo was good for the good of the earth?"

"He is but…he is also a legendary. He wasn't born into it like me and the others but he still has the power of one. So, he has the same amount of power as me. He never grew out of it. I am afraid, Cyrus will figure out how to make him rise again. But careful boy. And save the world once again." At that, Ash nodded and closed his eyes.

Happiness and warmness filled his body.

* * *

Dawn fell asleep holding Ash's hand. The next morning was the day the body was getting removed. Dawn was awoken by Pikachu shouting at people invading the room.

"PIKA, CHU PI!" Dawn quickly lifted her head to see four doctors plus Brock and Gary coming through the door. Dawn stood up and put her hands protect in front of Ash.

"No! You can't take him! He is still in there somewhere!" Brock and Gary nodded at each other and they held Dawn back. Gently but study enough not to hurt her but to hold her back at the same time.

"NOOO!" The sentence from the flashback repeated in her ears.

"_He's gone."_

"NOOO!" She shouted again as the doctor's started to lift his body onto another table. Then, a light came from Ash's body. Everybody shielded their eyes and then were shocked to see that Ash was breathing again. The doctors looked at each other and shrugged. They put him back onto the hospital bed and started running tests and treating him the best they could. Brock and Gary let go of Dawn out of shock and then more doctors came in a flooded the room. The three teens were forced out and to wait in the hallway.

Brock with nothing to say,

Gary with a haunted look in his eyes,

and Dawn with relief. _Thank you Arceus_, she prayed and was shocked when a voice answered back inside her head.

_Your welcome. _


	7. Chapter Seven

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Seven- White

Ash saw white all around him. White jackets, white walls, white blankets, white tubes. Everything was pure. _Thank you Arceus_, Ash prayed as his eyes closed again. Arceus just smiled at the chosen one from his cloud above. After the thousandth time of his eyes opening and then falling shut again, he blacked out of good. He guessed the doctors had started getting annoyed at him for trying to get up and find Dawn.

* * *

"He is stable, it's like he hasn't even died…" A deep voice mumbled to the right of him. Ash couldn't move. But, he could open his eyes. He saw an older doctor to the right of him looking at Ash with interest. There was also a younger doctor to the left of him. The younger man smiled and the older man sighed. The older man had think black hair that was just getting some light gray spots in it. The older man's eyes were sharp as could be, and their color was the color of sheer, pale blue ice. He also had beard that wasn't too thin or thick. His mouth was curved into a large frown. "Boy," The man said, clearly annoyed and frazzled, "Do you know why you are alive?" Ash didn't answer, as the younger boy interrupted him. The younger boy had brown hair with dark brown eyes. He had a large smile on his face. Ash could guess he was perky and new to the job. He hadn't seen _half _as many dead people as all the other veteran had.

"Sorry, I am Dr. Kevin Marsif and this is rewound Doctor Hugo Genter." Genter nodded sternly. Marsif held out his hand and Ash weakly lifted up his hand. They shook and then Ash shook hands with Genter. Ash already had 20 nicknames going through his head for Genter. Marsif helped Ash sit up and even after that small motion, Ash was breathing heavily. Marsif checked Ash's pulse and everything else while Genter asked the same question again.

"So, boy, how are you alive? Your life-lines were at zero and your heart just magically starts up again?" He scoffed. "Impossible…" He muttered turning away and looking at the wall. Ash opened his mouth to speak and this time a voice inside his head stopped him.

_Don't trust these two._ Arceus' voice rang though Ash's head.

_Why?_ Ash had to ask. _Don't trust __anyone._ Ash nodded to himself. The two doctors didn't notice.

_How are you talking to me? I thought once you turned me back to life I could never talk to you again? _A small chuckled echoed gently though his mind.

_When I made you breathe air again, I put a part of me into you. Every time I bring someone back to life, a part of me says with them. So, it also gives me the ability to talk with them. And before you ask, no, I can't bring everyone back to life because then I would use myself up. __I__ would be no more. The __worlds __would have no leader. They would fall and destroy each other from the inside out. _Ash didn't answer back for a few moments.

_Okay… who can I trust? _Silence. That's how Ash's mind should have been in the first place, but right now he wanted it active with energy flowing though him. A sigh came from the Pokémon.

_Gary. He is the only good aura I can sense around you._ Ash had to keep his face from turning into one of shock.

_What about Dawn? Brock?_ The Pokémon thought about this.

_Yes, you can trust them too. You will now when they are lying though. You took that power from me. See, every human that comes back to life gets a special power from me. Your's is that you can tell when people lie to another or you. And you can lie like it was born with you. _Ash smiled. Genter noticed. He watched with interest.

_Thanks, that will come in handy. So, who can I trust the most? _Ash let out a long breath as the silence dragged on, with no answer from the god.

_Gary. Now, don't get mad at me but Dawn is your girlfriend so she will say certain things for your benefit. Even though you can see though the lies, you would just ignore them. Brock is smart…but he isn't wise enough…yet. Gary is like your big brother correct? _Ash thought about this. Of course the answer was yes. Accrues continued. _So, he won't lie, he won't turn evil and he __will__ fight by your side. Please listen to my plead and we will talk again soon enough Ash. Farewell._ Ash felt an energy leave his body. "So, do you know the answer boy?" Genter snapped, clearly not happy with waiting for Ash to snap out of his daydream. Ash jumped and shook his head.

"I was freaking burned by the volts of a Thunderbolt. Do ya' think I would remember anything?" Genter was about to yell back, but Marsif interrupted.

"What do you remember Mr. Ketchum?" Ash played dumb.

"My name is Ash and I don't remember anything before waking up here. Sorry."

"It's not your fault Ash." Marsif responded, getting him a dirty work from Genter. Genter knew the boy was lying.

"Whatever boy. Anything you need?" Genter asked, heading for the door with Marsif on his tail.

"Yes, send in Dawn and Pikachu." The doctors nodded and Ash smiled as the door clicked closed. He heard mumbling outside his door and it burst open, Dawn the causer of this. She slammed it shut behind her and ran up to Ash. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he kissed her. They stayed that for a few minutes until they needed to pull back for air. Then, a little yellow mouse pushed it's way in between them. Ash grinned wider. Dawn pulled back and Ash hugged Pikachu tight. "I have missed ya buddy…" Ash mumbled.

"Chu, pika,pi." Ash laughed. Pikachu jumped to the end of the bed and Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash again. Ash smiled as he looked into Dawn's eyes. She smiled too.

"I have missed you so much Ash…" She said as she sat on the end of the hospital bed. Ash wasn't satisfied with her sitting on the end of the bed. He wanted her next to him. Ash patted the spot next to him. Dawn gave him a childish look. Ash just nodded. Dawn beamed brightly and moved closer to him, her head on his chest.

"I love you Dawn…" Ash muttered into her ear. Dawn let the blush cover her cheeks.

"I love you too, Ashy boy." Ash felt his heart skip a beat.

* * *

Dawn was lying in the hospital bed, playing with her thumbs. Ash had gotten up to go to the bathroom. He could walk easily; he just couldn't run at all or do too much at once. Then, he would get short of breath and very pale. Ash had already told Dawn about what Arceus had said and Dawn was in the god's debut. The god Pokémon had fixed up most of Ash's wounds; the only noticeable ones were the burn, a gash on his right hand, another burn on his arm from when he tried to escape and a thin pink line on his cheek. They had just both fell asleep for about two hours and now they were just talking about everything. Dawn heard the toilet flush and Ash walked out. Dawn froze when she saw him. Ash's face filled with worry.

"What's wrong Dawn?" Ash got back into the bed and wrapped an arm around Dawn. Dawn let out a sharp breath. You could see Ash's burn right though his shirt. Dawn mumbled her answer.

"Speak up Dawn."

"Your _burn_ Ash! You can _see_ it right though the shirt! _I_ caused that!_ I_ caused you to be scared for life!" Ash looked down at the burn and shrugged. He looked back at Dawn and saw her staring at the wall, lost in her thoughts. Ash sighed and pulled Dawn closer to him.

"Dawn, I don't _care_ if people see the burn. The more people see it, the more they know how I _much I_ _care_." Dawn didn't look away from the wall. Ash turned Dawn's body towards him so that she had to look at him. Ash threw the covers off of him and took off his shirt. Dawn looked away quickly. Ash put his hands on her shoulders. Dawn slowly turned towards him. "It isn't your fault Dawn. I rather have this and be alive than not have this and be road-kill." Dawn smiled slightly. Ash did too. They leaned in and just as

Ash was about to seal the kiss, Dawn jerked her head down and looked at the burn. Ash smacked his forehead. But, at the same time, he didn't care. He watched as Dawn put her finger over the middle of it, Ash flinched at her touch because her finger was cold. Dawn started to pull her hand back but Ash put his warm hand over hers. Dawn looked up at Ash's skeptical face. "What are you doing?" He whispered as he held in a chuckle. Dawn smiled.

"Inspecting the damage. Now shut up and let me look." Ash let out his laugh. Dawn gave him a death glare. Ash kept laughing. Dawn rolled her eyes and focused back on the burn. It was still lumpy but it had turned a darker pink. Some of the skin had gone darker, but Dawn had guessed that it was from were Pikachu's tail was.

"Dawn, did Pikachu get out of the room?" Dawn looked around quickly and then face-palmed herself.

"I must have let him out when I got a drink. I will be back." Dawn left the room. Energy filled his body. Arceus.

_Yes?_ Ash asked curiously. The Pokémon sighed quickly. Ash heard talking outside the door.

_Don't trust that doctor… _The Pokémon trailed off, not unsure but worried.

_I know, I know. Don't trust anything or anyone and- _Arceus cut Ash off.

_Listen to me! This isn't a game boy! _The god roared in Ash's brain. Ash got him mad alright. _That Genter doctor is going to come in a try and touch Dawn. __Don't let him._ Ash held his head. The power was over-whelming.

_Why? _The god didn't answer. The door opened and Ash let go of his head when he saw his mouse Pokémon jump on top of him. Ash grinned.

"Pikachu! Buddy, where did ya go?"

"Chu! Pi, pika, chu, pi?"

"No, I don't want any ketchup. Did you find some in the lunch room?" Pikachu's eyes turned into hearts.

"CHU! Pika, pi, chu, Pikachu, pi!" Pikachu said dreamily, thinking of the LOADS of ketchup down in the lunch room. Ash chuckled at his partner.

"Glad you like it here." Ash hugged Pikachu tight and they stayed like that for a few seconds. Then, yelling brought them out of it. Pikachu perked his ears up and Ash turned towards the door. The yelling continued. Pikachu jumped off Ash as he threw back on his shirt and slowly got of bed. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder and they headed towards the door. They got to the door to see Dr. Genter and Dawn fighting.

"You can't do this!" Dawn screeched. They didn't see Ash, so Ash stood in the doorway and listened.

"Oh yes I can!" The deep voice of Genter rang out.

"He is perfectly fine! You can just throw him into a coma to try and see if there are any other problems!"

"I can and I will! We need to do it because we need to make sure there are no major problems in the inside of him!"

"You did x-rays, you did everything! He was dead and you had time to look at him then! What did you do? You ignored him!"

"HE WAS DEAD!" Genter boomed. Ash was about to step out into the hallway when Arceus answered his question.

_Genter is darker then you think. He works for Cyrus. _Those words hit Ash like a ton of bricks. Cyrus was everywhere, no matter what Ash did to get away from him.

_WHAT?! _Ash yelled back to the god Pokémon. The god didn't answer. Ash heard Genter's voice again.

"I am now going to finish you girly and your little boyfriend too." He snarled.

"HELP!" Dawn yelled and Ash ran.

_Hurry Ash! He is about to touch her! _Arceus said. Ash ran.

And he tackled Genter.


	8. Chapter Eight

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Eight- Brock

Genter and Ash fell to the floor. Dawn gasped in surprise. Genter grunted and punched Ash in the stomach, right where his burn was. Genter knew Ash's weak spot.

"You are messing with the wrong person!" Genter shouted in Ash's ear as he flipped him. Ash grunted in pain as Genter twisted his arm back. Dawn stood there, too much in shock to do much of anything. Ash managed to get onto of Genter for a second. Just enough time to tell Dawn.

"Dawn! Get help!" Was all Ash could get out before Genter over-powered him again. Ash's burn was throbbing and he was becoming dizzier by the second. Dawn nodded quickly and ran down the hallway. Ash was trying to get his headache under control.

_ASH!_ Ash looked up and saw Genter pulling a knife out of his pocket. He let the knife fly down. Ash rolled, painfully, and avoided another cut.

_Thanks. _Ash dodged another swipe.

_Watch out boy! _Ash rolled the wrong way and Genter got his arm. Ash heard shouting in the distance. Genter chuckled.

"Boy…don't mess with Cyrus." With that, Genter threw himself at Ash.

* * *

Ash grunted in pain. His burn was killing him and the blood wouldn't stop flowing from his arm. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Brock and Gary had gotten there in the nick of time, and Ash owed his life to them. The doctors said his burn was bruised and he had a very deep arm cut. Just what he needed. Ash refused any visitors. He wouldn't even allow them to bring Pikachu in. Ash was ashamed of himself. He could have used his new power from Arceus and could have sensed the evil in Genter. Or he could have taken Arceus' warnings more seriously. Ash could have done a lot of things to prevent what had just happened a few hours ago.

But, he acted stupid. A knock came from the door. Ash's mind screamed no but he ignored it and told the person to come in. Brock came in and sat on the wooden chair still in the room from Dawn. Brock looked at Ash and smiled. Ash smiled fakely back. Brock started the conversation.

"Ash, it wasn't your fault."

* * *

"…Is Dawn okay?" Brock looked at the far wall. They have been talking for about ten minutes. Ash had been avoiding this question the whole time…but now he needed to know.

"…" Brock opened his mouth but nothing came out. Ash became worried. If Dawn was hurt…he wouldn't forgive himself.

"Brock, please." Ash tried to move but instead, he was treated by a flash of pain from his burn. Brock sighed and turned towards Ash. "Yeah, she's fine but…" Ash watched Brock's every movement. His body language, the way his foot was tapping on the ground… Brock was lying about Dawn.

"You're lying." Ash answered. Brock's facial expression was shocked.

"I-I," Brock stammered back.

"Just…" Ash let out a breath. Why was Brock lying? "…tell me." Brock locked eyes with Ash.

"I don't know how you knew but, yeah I was lying. It was for your sake."

"Brock-"

"Ash, just hear me out." Ash nodded. "So after we brought you back in here, Gary stayed with you and I went back to Dawn. I picked up Kenny on the way and we headed there. But, when we got there….Genter had the knife to Dawn's throat and the two police we had called in were bleeding and knocked out on the ground." Ash tried not to jump out of bed. "Genter…he…"

"_Make another move and this girl will die!" Kenny and Brock stopped in their tracks. Genter smiled. "Good, now, leave." _

"_What?" Brock shouted. Kenny braced himself. _

"_I. Said. Leave." Dawn cried out suddenly and both boys looked at her. Blood was slowly flowing down her neck. _

"_Let her go!" Kenny shouted, now scared for what was about to happen to his best friend. _

"_Leave." Was Genter's simple answer. Brock stayed quiet, hoping Kenny would get the hint. He didn't. _

"_No! Let her go you freaking nut case!" Brock quickly grabbed Kenny's shoulder just as he tried to launch forward. Brock held him back. Dawn cried out again and more blood dribbled slowly down her neck. Brock brought his mouth to Kenny's ear. _

"_Stop it. The more you do, the more he will do." Kenny nodded slightly. Brock looked at the man. He had a crazed expression on his face and his eyes were like shinning venom. __Brock had seen this look before. __"Who do you work for?" Brock asked the man, who had loosed his grip on Dawn. Kenny had bent down and was making sure the two police officers were okay. _

"_Why should I tell you brat?" He spat back. Brock knew this gameplay. _

"_Because, no man would go up against the famous Ash Ketchum without backup." Genter growled. _

"_Cyrus sent me here after the boy escaped. Said he would pay me in millions if I killed the boy or captured his girlfriend. So far, I'm getting paid in millions either way." He grinned, thinking of the gold-filled future he would have after this whole thing was over. The only way to control man-kind was by greed and money. That was the only other thing that ruled over love and hope. _

"_You do know that Cyrus has betrayed more people then you and I can count. What makes you think that he won't betray you?" _

"_Because he swore on his life." Brock scoffed. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Kenny it the red button on the walkie-talkie. The red panic button. _

"_Cyrus would still break that promise. He's evil." Dawn felt Genter grip the knife harder again. Genter stayed quiet. Kenny stood back up. _

"_Not just Cyrus. Team Galactic even." Kenny inquired. Genter growled. _

"_You-" Voices surrounded everyone as police flooded into the hallway. Genter looked from the police to the kids. He had a chance. He dropped Dawn and darted. Right for the door. The light in his path._

"He didn't make it through." Brock said, pity in his voice. Ash tried to move again but another shot of pain came from his burn. He wasn't going anywhere.

"So, what's wrong with Dawn?"

"From the knife she has a very bad cut on her neck. Not severely bad, but almost there."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Ash reframed from screaming this sentence.

"We thought it would be too much for you to handle." Ash let out a breath.

"I have been up against gods, villains and just plain weird things. And you thought I couldn't handle this?"

"Well, we just wanted to make sure."

"When can I see Dawn?" Brock looked at the ceiling.

"When your strong enough, so it depends."

"Okay. Thanks Brocko." They both smiled widely.

"Get some rest Ash."

"Yup but one last thing?"

"What is it?"

"Can ya send in Pikachu please?"

"Sure." Brock left the room and Ash sighed. He was still stressed.

_Dawn will be fine._ Arceus' voice rang out.

_Yeah, yeah. I know. You butt in at the worse times, you know that right? _Ash heard a chuckle come from the Pokémon.

_I sure do. _Ash couldn't help but to chuckle to himself. Ash saw the door open a tiny bit and then close again. Ash heard something thump to the ground and then _his_ yellow clump of fur jumped on him.

"Pika!" Pikachu sang happily as it snuggled into Ash's chest. Ash patted his friend.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you in earlier Pikachu. I just didn't want you to see me like this."

"Chu, pi." Ash laughed quietly.

"I know." They both just stayed like that for a few more seconds and then Pikachu hopped down onto the floor. Ash looked over at the floor. He couldn't see what Pikachu was doing. "Pikachu, what are you-" Pikachu jumped back onto the bed with a big bottle of ketchup in his hands. Ash smiled brightly and held in a laugh. Pikachu handed the ketchup to Ash. Ash looked at the red bottle in his hands. "For me?" Pikachu nodded. Ash couldn't stop his grin from reaching his ears. "Thanks buddy."

"Chu, pika." Pikachu grabbed the bottle quickly and opened it. Pikachu ate some of it and then handed it back to Ash. Ash couldn't hold in his laughter. He burst out laughing. Pikachu looked at Ash strangely. Ash stopped laughing moments later and picked up Pikachu.

"Buddy, you've got a red mustache." Pikachu's eyes popped out of his head. Pikachu jumped down and went to the bathroom mirror to try and get the red mustache off his face. Ash just smiled after him. Pikachu looked good with a mustache. But then, another thought struck him. It looked like a vision. Ash closed his eyes and saw flames everywhere. Everything was burning.

All because of one small flame. The vision zoomed in on a small shadow. Then, everything went black. Ash opened his eyes and saw Pikachu next to him with a scared look on his face. Ash let out a long breath.

"Everything's all right Pikachu…I just had a really weird vision thing…" Ash trailed off.

"Pika, pi." Pikachu put a paw on Ash's arm.

"Yeah…good idea. I will ask Arceus. Thanks buddy."

"Chu!" Ash closed his eyes and sighed.

_Arceus? _The god answered back almost instantly.

_Yes Ash? _

_What was that vision I just had?_ The Pokémon sighed.

_I showed that to you. _Ash was confused.

_Why?_

_Because it's important. It explains what's to come._

_So the world is going to burn down in flames?_

_No…worse…_

_What do you mean by 'worse'? _The god didn't answer. Ash opened his eyes to see Pikachu looking at him with a frown on his face. Ash smiled. "Arceus said that it was important for me to know…"

"Chu! Pika,pika, chu!" Pikachu beamed at Ash. Ash chuckled quietly.

"You're right. Thanks."

"Pika,pi." Ash tilted his head back and watched the ceiling. He was _really _risking _everything_.


	9. Chapter Nine

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Nine-Gary

* * *

The next morning, Ash woke up with a start. He was having a nightmare. He quickly looked down to make sure his trusty companion was still with him. Pikachu was right next to his feet, sleeping soundly. Ash let out a long breath and turned to the window. The sun was shining brightly, like gold in the moonlight. He sighed again and pushed the dark nightmare out of his mind. He didn't need any more stress then he already had. What was the nightmare about you ask? Well, it was about Pikachu getting hurt. And worse. He shuttered slightly, remembering the thought. Pikachu started to snore loudly. Ash held in a chuckle but at the same time, the nightmare still haunted him. Ash nearly jumped at the sound of Arceus' voice.

_You all right Ash?_ His voice had a hint of concern in it. Ash didn't answer for a few moments as the vision kept replaying it's self in his mind. _Ash?_ Arceus tried again, becoming worried.

_Huh? Oh, yeah…I'm fine Arceus. _The god nearly chortled. But instead he scoffed.

_Something's wrong with you boy. I can sense it. I'm not dumb you know._ Ash was the one to gawk at his remark this time.

_I know that. Do you know what time it is?_ Ash was still looking out the window, trying to decide what time of day it was. The sun was fully up, but it still looked late.

_It is about noon._ Ash's mouth fell open.

_So even with all this stuff happening, I can still sleep in?_ This time, the god laughed.

_It seems so. I must go now. Someone is coming to see you too. Goodbye._ Ash didn't say his farewell. He didn't want to. He missed the company of someone talking to him. Pikachu wasn't enough. Speaking of the little yellow mouse, Pikachu awoke with a start as Ash moved his feet. He didn't mean to wake the slumbering Pokémon up but, things happen.

"Chu?" Ash grinned slyly.

"Sorry 'bout that Pikachu. I was just trying to get conformable. You can go back to sleep you know."

"Pika, pi, chu?" Ash laughed at his partner's answer. _You don't think?_ Ash got up and headed to the bathroom to get washed up.

* * *

"A visitor is here for you." Ash raised his eyebrows at the doctor.

"Who is it?"

"A boy named Gary. He says he needs to talk to you about some things." Ash thought about this. It was now about 2:00 in the afternoon and all Ash did all day was lay in bed and pet Pikachu.

"Yeah, sure. Send him in." Ash answered calmly. The doctor nodded and headed out the room. Ash waited. Pikachu snuggled closer To Ash and he smiled lightly. "Thanks buddy. You like Gary now too I suppose?"

"Pi, chu, Pikachu."

"I will take that as a yes." The door opened and closed in a swift motion. Gary appeared before their eyes. He was wearing a darker blue t-shirt with ripped jeans. His hair was spiked as usual and weirdly, he had not a smirk, but a smile on his face. Ash kept his mouth from flinging open. Gary took a seat in the same brown chair that everyone else sat in. Nothing new, nothing special.

"Hey ya Ashy boy. How are you doing?" Ash held back a smirk. Since when did Gary say nice things to him? Ash always looked up to Gary like a brother but he was still surprised his intro didn't have a rude comment in it.

"Good, thanks for asking. But I do have one question…" Gary looked surprised.

"A question? All right, go ahead and fire."

"What's with the good mood?" Gary frowned a little.

"Well, if you want the mean Gary back, that's fine with me."

"No, no! Never mind, forget I asked!" Gary's signature smirk returned to his face.

"That's what I thought." They both got plunged into an abyss of silence for a while. Neither one of them daring to break it. Neither one of them wanted to be drowned in the silence of darkness. But then, Ash broke the barrier and slaved the silence. "Back there when I was up on that stage…why did you try to protect me?" Gary looked out the window and then back at Ash.

"Remember when we first meant? When you were playing with your dad and," Gary noticed Ash visibly flinched. "Sorry." Gary quickly remarked. Ash just nodded. "Anyway," Gary continued. "And your d-a stranger called you 'Ashy-boy'?" Ash smiled slightly.

"Yeah…"

"Yeah that memory is the most important in my life. Because that's when I broke out of my shell. And you helped me."

"I just helped the real you shine though." Gary chuckled.

"Yeah. Thanks." The silence came over them again. Ash spoke again.

"The doctor said you wanted to talk to me about something." Gary looked confused for a second and then his face showed understanding.

"Oh yeah, right. Well, I wanted to talk to you about something Dawn said…"Ash opened his ears. He wanted to hear this. Pikachu stayed silent, but was still listening. Gary went quiet for a few moments.

"Spit it out Gary."

"Dawn told me that you told her that you look up to me like a brother…is that true?" Ash answered without his mind approving his words.

"Yeah. I mean like, we're rivals but at the same time we are close. I don't know… it's just like every time I've been in trouble, you have backed me up. And I'm grateful for that. And whenever we don't want to help each other, we help each other like family members would. So yeah I guess you could say that." Gary was shocked at Ash's speech. He had just admitted to all of that. And Gary was jumping up and down on the inside.

"…Thanks Ashy boy. That's means a lot." They both smiled brightly.

"Sure thing." Pikachu looked up at Ash with a confused face. He didn't know about any 'meeting' or whatever they were talking about. Ash saw this and mouthed 'later' to the Pokémon. Pikachu nodded. Gary saw and looked at Pikachu.

"So Pikachu…I got ya a gift." Ash looked at Gary with his eyebrows raised and Gary winked. Ash sighed and crossed his arms. Pikachu was literally hopping up and down in happiness. Gary stuck a hand in his pocket and then pulled out a big bottle of red ketchup. Pikachu jumped over and grabbed the bottle from Gary's hands. Gary grinned and Ash shook his head. "Pikachu, if you drink any more you-" Gary cut Ash off. "Leave him be. He's stressed." Ash sent a look to Gary. Gary stood up and before he left he mouthed his last words to Ash. Ash cracked up laughing as Pikachu kept slurping down the red drink. Gary had mouthed, _'Let Pikachu find out himself…he might be a lump for the next few days…'_

* * *

**Family is life. Without family, you are nothing. Nothing but a withered piece of paper. Family is what keeps the mind and heart from shutting down. Brothers and sisters are your life-line. Parents a back-up. Aunts and uncles are panic buttons. And babies are new things to try. With the knife there is no emotion, but with the family there is so much that it over- whelms you in a good way. Giving up your family for something that disappears faster than Houdini isn't worth it. Like money. Greed. Nastiness. Think before you let your actions unfold. Think of who you are helping and hurting with your next move…think of it like a game of chess that goes on forever.**

**Without love, you die.**

**Without pain, you wither.**

**Without hope…you disappear.**


	10. Chapter Ten

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Ten-Rule-Breaker

_2 days ago- 4:00PM; Day the man of evil was captured-_

"You are worth-less scum." The guard to the right of Cyrus spat as they turned a corner. The man was in his 20's and had brown wavy hair and a some scuff. He had a light voice that was masked by the pride of his job, pride he didn't want to give up. Cyrus knew he could easily break this man. He was the type that would play around when he was little and then have his dreams come true. He had very dark blue eyes like the deepest part of the ocean.

The guard on the left side him jabbed Cyrus in the ribs. Cyrus merely grunted, not wanting to reveal anything to the dope guards. The man on the right laughed a laugh that wasn't like the other police here. It was filled to the brim with hatred and…_hope_? Cyrus pushed the thought out of his mind. How _absurd_ to think that. "What was going on in your twisted mind to try and kill a boy? A mere 16-year old at that!" The man continued, ignoring the left guard telling him to shut up. The guard on the left was older and had black hair that turning sliver. He had dark brown eyes and a short beard. He had a deep voice and circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

Cyrus stayed emotionless.

He didn't _feel_ like dealing with a knuckle-head like this man. The man on the left, after countless tries of telling the other man to shut up, finally broke. He stopped walking and turned to the man with a tried look on his face. Cyrus could easily tell that this man had been working long hours down here.

"Sergeant, shut up or I will tell the boss on your sorry-" The Sergeant waved both of his hands in a bird-like motion to cut the man off.

"Okay, okay! Geez Manning, you don't have to get your badge in a twist!" Manning shook his head sadly and they started walking again, the Sergeant not making a sound. He had already got in trouble twice this week for fooling around. If he got his third strike, he was out. Literally. They turned another corner and walked some more. They were meant face-to-face by a few rows of cells, filled with the most notorious criminals known to man. Cyrus smiled. He had worked with some of these people. Some of them he paid greatly and they got along. Some of them, he betrayed. But in all, all bad guys were like brothers to each other in some twisted way. Manning roughly pushed him forward and they started walking again. Cyrus was lead to the empty cell in the direct back of the hall. The Sergeant took a ring of keys from his pocket and stuck them roughly in the lock. The lock was rusty but it still looked like it could hold a mad bear in the cage. Manning shoved Cyrus in the cage, not even bothering to take his cuffs off. The Sergeant slammed the door shut and laughed.

"You will rot in here for the rest of your life." They walked off; both silent for the Sergeant was still scared of Cyrus. Why? Cyrus had gave him a smile and death glare at the same time. Not a frown or growl like the other prisoners would do.

So, it scared him.

* * *

He had a right to be scared.

* * *

_Present time- 12:00PM; Day of the Rule-breaker-_

Cyrus smiled as the flames engulfed the cells. The flames danced across the room, releasing the men like paying their fines. Screams could be heard from the poor souls of the guards who couldn't get out in time. Cyrus took one more look at his cell and then stepped out of it, taking in a big breath of smoky ash. He walked forward and got to the end of the hall, where the flames were just beginning to very slowly take over. He then saw a small room with the door ajar.

He smirked and slammed the door open. Inside, there were the two officers from before, the Sergeant and Manning. They both gasped in surprised and their eyes went wide. Cyrus shut the door behind them, the lock's click still echoing though the room even after moments past. Cyrus spoke with a normal voice.

"You had a right to be scared Sergeant."

* * *

The crack of the wood from the door burning suffocated the Sergeant. His hands were tied up and Cyrus was sitting on a table, playing with his finger-nails. The scared man looked over at the body of Manning. Manning's body laid still on the ground-still like a board. The Sergeant gulped loudly, bringing attention to him. The embers itched closer. Cyrus spoke, his voice taunting.

"So…what's your name again?" Cyrus asked, trying to drag out the moment so the flames would itch closer every second.

"Rory." He croaked out. He hated when he wasn't called by his first name, no one cared though.

"So, _Rory, _how ya been? How's life?" He dragged out the word 'life'. Rory felt a burning pain in his side and looked over. He was shocked to see the flames were licking his skin. He screamed as the pain got stronger.

"I will tell you anything!" Cyrus grinned.

"Nice choice."

* * *

Cyrus kicked down the door. The flames, in seconds, engulfing him. He swore as his back felt like he was carrying coals. He stepped on a piece of burning metal and he screamed in pain.

_MEWTWO! _He growled into his mind. Nothing answered him for a few seconds. Cyrus suddenly got worried for a spilt-second until the purple Pokémon's voice rang though his mind.

_Yes Cyrus? _Cyrus dogged another piece of ember falling from the ceiling.

_Protect me! Now, you blasted fool before our plan burns in front of us! _Cyrus felt a purple shield spread around him and he smiled with relief.

_As you wish. _Cyrus floated down the hallways, finding his way out taking all of the time he needed.

_In a small room-_

Rory's body looked like it was glowing red as it was engulfed by the flames. He was dead and so was Manning, for the mere reason that Cyrus wanted them to suffer. And suffer they did.

A piece of ceiling fell on their bodies and the evidence was hidden, for possibility ages to come.

* * *

Cyrus was now in the forest, limping away from the blasted prison. He was mad at Mewtwo and at the boy.

_Heal me! _Mewtwo sighed.

_As you wish… _The Pokémon mumbled. Cyrus felt a 100% better after a few moments. How could Cyrus talk to Mewtwo like Ash could to Arceus? Mewtwo could do this with any human. This is because he is a physic-type Pokémon.

_Thank you. Do you know where my Pokémon are?_ Cyrus walked for a few more minutes and then six capsules bobbed around inside his suit's inside pockets. _Thank you. _Mewtwo grunted in response. Cyrus dug a pokeball out of his pocket and frowned sensing this Pokémon was hurt. His cat Pokémon popped out of the ball with a whimper.

"Per, per…" It whimpered. Cyrus patted it's head.

_Mewtwo, heal him now. He hurt! _A grumble came from the god Pokémon and then the cat started purring happily. It was healed.

_Cyrus, how are we going to rule if you thirst for power is so heavy? _Cyrus chuckled.

_It will be equal, don't worry. _Mewtwo sighed, started to regret his choice. Cyrus growled with a thought. "That boy and his friends are still alive and they will get in our way…." Cyrus said out loud to himself and his Pokémon as they walked. Mewtwo, unknown to Cyrus, was still listening. Then, he laughed. "They can be the first to test out my new _project_…" He mused and then laughed again.

_Mewtwo gasped. He knew the boy Cyrus was talking about._


	11. Chapter Eleven

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Eleven- Legend

* * *

**The leaves turned in the wind, not fighting the breeze. They weren't going to cause any trouble; they didn't want to. A car drove past and made the leaves flutter. The leaves were close to falling off, but they hung onto their mother branch like a life-line. **

**Which, their mother branch was. **

**Another strong gust pried at the leaf, the poor thing still hung on. Then, there was a man. He was younger and stupid. Not knowing how to upset the balance of nature or bring peace. He saw the leaf and smiled slyly. The leaf was a perfect golden orange color. It would be a great gift for his girlfriend. **

**He reached up and pulled down the branch while, unbeknownst to him, the tree whined in pain. The tree's poor whine dragged on with the breeze. The boy tugged at the leaf and the leaf let go. There was no reason to try and fight it. The man smiled brightly at his achievement. He started to walk away, the baby leaf gasping for breath in the man's hand. The mother tree sobbed and sobbed and sobbed for days. **

**Her tinniest most praised daring was taken from her. **

**She sobbed for days on end.**

* * *

**An older, wise man was walking down the street. He was just minding his own business when a small whine caught him off guard. The older man turned and listened. He heard the sob again. He turned and headed towards the direction of the sob. He was brought to the weeping of a tree. He walked forward with sympathy and put his hand gently on the bark. The tree growled. The man chuckled lightly. **

"**I understand you have been though a great lost. Now, don't fear. I am not here to hurt you. My name is Chung and I too have suffered great lost." The tree stopped weeping. The man's soft voice and hit a hole in the old willow's heart. The man reached his hand slowly into his left pocket. His hand came back out with a red and white capsule in it. Chung smiled at his friend. His Pokémon had been with him for a long time. **

**Since the beginning in fact. **

**He looked at the tree and reassured her with a grin. The tree calmed down. The man gently pressed the button. The ball released an Pokémon with a collar around it's neck. The collar was a bright red. It had a name tag. The name tag read 'Blake'. The Pokémon looked like a mix of bright flames. But, his eyes were a dark blue. That and the collar were the things that stood out about this Pokémon. It was a Growlithe. The dog looked around and his eyes locked onto the tree. His eyes showed sparkling flames as they danced across. He looked back at Chung. **

"**Grow?" **

"**Blake, please use Flamethrower." The tree froze. Blake looked at his trainer, his eyes showing no mercy. **

"**Lithe, grow." Blake turned towards the tree and straitened his tail. He closed his eyes and the earth went quiet. Then, a roar escaped Blake. "GRRRRRROOOWWW!" Blake opened his eyes and then a powerful flame reached out and scorched the tree. The tree glared at Chung and Blake. Chung told Blake to stop and he did. The tree was now stuck in a painful, slow death. The tree let all of it's hatred shine though to Chung. Chung smiled slightly.**

"**Please listen to me. I have suffered lost greater than your's and I have tried so many times to be with my wife…many times I would tell Blake to kill me and he would refuse. You don't realize how much dying will help you. Please forgive me in another life even if you don't forgive me now." He spoke the last part quickly. The tree looked at him with no emotion written anywhere on her face. **

**As the flame started to die out and the tree toke it's last breath, she just shook her head. **

* * *

**Chung and Blake were walking home. Chung would sigh every few seconds. Blake knew why. **

"**Grow, grow, lithe?" Chung looked at his trusty partner. **

"**You did well Blake, you did well." Was his simple reply as he patted Blake's head. They kept walking.**

* * *

**They passed their house and the town. Blake got worried. They didn't know any other place to go. Chung kept walking, with Blake forced to follow him. **

* * *

**They made it to the edge of the forest. Blake was taken aback. The view before them was just so great…no, scratch that. Amazing. But, even amazing couldn't sum up what they saw. It was a sunset unlike any other. The sun **_**looked**_** like it was a dancing flame up in the distance. The sun was moving down slowly though, like as if it was frozen in time. Blake's mouth fell in awe and Chung chuckled beside him. **

"**Blake, please do listen to me." Blake tore his eyes away from the sunset and looked at his master. **

"**Growlithe?" **

"**Blake… my time is coming."**

"**Lithe?!" Blake snuggled close to his master. Chung chuckled again. **

"**Yes, I am sorry but no one lives forever."**

"**Grow, grow, lithe! Growlithe!" Chung hugged Blake.**

"**When? We won't know. But, my time is coming and I now that. Now, I need to tell you something more important. When I got you, you did something unforgivable. The world thinks you are a monster and I think that I have just helped that with the tree…" Blake didn't say anything, for he was deep in shock and thought. ****"Blake, you are a **_**legend**_**."**

Ash woke with a start. He quickly sat up and looked around. Pikachu jumped up at Ash's sudden movement and looked at his trainer. Ash had sweat all over him and he was panting. He saw Pikachu and Pikachu hopped on him. Ash hugged Pikachu tight.

"Pikachu…" He mumbled. Pikachu perked his ears up. "I just had the strangest _dream_…" Pikachu listened carefully as his trainer told him everything. By the end of the story, Ash was still holding Pikachu tight and Pikachu was deep in his thoughts. Ash looked at the closed window. He got out of bed and went over to the window. It was night time. At least 2:00 in the morning. No sunset. No sun at all.

Just the eerie moon. Ash pulled back the curtain and nothing changed. He huffed and closed the curtain again. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the sink. He splashed some water on his pale face and turned off the running water. He headed back to bed and just sat on the edge of the bed. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. "Pikachu, do you think I should ask Arceus?"

"Pika…" Pikachu mused. "Chu! Pi."

"All right." Ash replied. _Arceus? You there? _Silence. Ash sighed. The god was probably asleep.

_Yes boy? _Ash was surprised the Pokémon answered him back.

_Umm…I just had a really, really weird dream and I was hoping you would explain it…? _The Pokémon chuckled.

_That wasn't a dream. _Ash tensed.

_What? _Pikachu noticed.

_It wasn't a dream. _Ash pondered this. _Boy that was a vision I showed you. That just happened two days ago. _Ash sprung up from the bed.

_Why did you show me it then? _He started pacing.

_Do you know how Arcanine is sometimes referred to as a legend in the Pokedex and some towns? Even some people? _Pikachu was still on Ash's shoulder. He could tell his trainer was mad.

…_Yes. _Ash stopped pacing.

_Well that Growlithe, Blake, is a living legend. And people think it isn't normal. That it is a monster. So, guess who is after it's power?_ Ash froze. _That's right. _Arceus responded to Ash's body language.

_So… this is part of my mission to save the world? _Arceus sighed.

_Yes. I am sorry boy that I have bestowed so many problems on you. But right now, your focus needs to be on that Growlithe. _Ash nodded.

_Okay, hold on. I need to tell Pikachu. _Ash sat back on the bed and picked Pikachu off his shoulder. He started to explain everything to Pikachu.

* * *

"Pika, chu, pika?"

"Yeah Pikachu. That's our next mission." Pikachu nodded and jumped back onto Ash's shoulder. Ash contacted the god again. _So, any more info you want to care to give me? _Arceus took a minute to respond.

_Yes, now pay attention. I am going to put you into a memory. Don't touch anything. _Ash put a hand on Pikachu.

_What do you- _Ash felt himself surrounded by power. He closed his eyes and then opened them a second later to be meant with a Growlithe in the forest, all by itself. It looked helpless. It was just a baby too. Ash felt Pikachu nudge him in the neck and Ash nodded slowly. Arceus appeared next to Ash. Ash and Pikachu almost jumped out of their skin. "Where you trying to kill me?!" Ash almost yelled to the god.

"No." The god replied calmly. Ash face-palmed.

"How am I supposed to save the world if I am dead?" He uttered back. The god ignored him.

"So, this is how everything started. Watch carefully." Ash obeyed. He watched as the puppy Pokémon rolled all around the ground. Ash merely smiled at the cuteness. He also noticed how the puppy Pokémon had dark blue eyes like Blake. But then, Ash saw a sight that sent shivers down his spine. A forest fire was starting. Ash looked at Pikachu who, too, was scared for the puppy. Ash tried to move forward but he couldn't.

"Arceus! It needs help! Let me go!" The god simply shook his head.

"I told you not to touch anything."

"I don't care! We need to help!"

"Chu! Pika!" The white Pokémon sighed.

"I brought you back 80 years into the past. If you touch something or anything like that, you will mess up the future and possibly your existence so I say stay put!" The Pokémon yelled the last part, causing Ash and Pikachu to flinch a little. Ash tried to move again but found he couldn't. He was going to kill whoever was behind this. Little did he know, he was going to be finding this out sooner than later. The fire spread around the puppy and the puppy started howling, loud heart-breaking howls. Ash whimpered and tried to move again.

He still couldn't. Pikachu looked at Ash and held onto his shoulder tighter. He was afraid he was going to fall into the fire. Ash noticed his Pokémon's tension. He scratched Pikachu behind the ears and lifted him off his shoulder. He held Pikachu close to his chest, ignoring the sparks of pain coming from his burn.

"I got ya buddy." Ash whispered.

"Pi." Pikachu uttered back, still a little scared but feeling safer. The fire closed in on the Growlithe. Ash was helpless. All he could do was watch. But then, Ash saw two shadows dart in and save the figure. Everything froze after that. Ash looked over at Arceus. He nodded.

"Onto the next scene." Ash held onto Pikachu tight and shut his eyes again. He opened them to see that they were in a lab-like room. Arceus walked forward and they followed. He walked up to a metal table that had the same Growlithe from before on it. There were wires that were blue and red hooked up to it though. There were several burns on it's body. Ash gasped and tried to move again but once again, he couldn't. The puppy looked like it was in pain, not getting help. Ash tore his eyes away from the puppy and looked at the door across the room. He wanted to see if…the door opened before he could get a good look. When he was captured, he had noticed that every door had the Team Galactic symbol on it. A younger man and two grunts walked in. Ash looked on his uniforms and Pikachu sparked his cheeks. Ash petted Pikachu and held him close. It was Team Galactic.

"Where's Cyrus?" Ash mumbled to himself. Arceus heard him.

"We are 80 years into the past. Cyrus hasn't taken over yet. This is an earlier leader."

"Who is it?"

"Alex Foul. He is one who only cares for power. That's it. That's also the only difference between all of the past leaders. Each one of them had a different thirst. Some, the same but that was rare." Ash nodded as Foul and the grunts walked up to the table. The puppy whimpered in it's sleep.

"Wake it up." Foul commanded. The grunts nodded and went over to a machine. They pressed a few buttons and the puppy woke up with a howl. Ash tried to move. He should have just given up trying to move on his second try but he was Ash. He hated when Pokémon were treated like dust. The puppy's eyes darted around the room and then landed on the spot where Ash and Arceus were. Arceus gasped.

"He shouldn't be able to sense us…this, this is bad. We must go. We might mess up history." Ash shook his head.

"Aren't we invisible?"

"Yes but, I don't want to-"

"Let's see what happens. This is an important part of this legend right?" The god stayed quiet for a moment, weighting his decisions. Risk the world or show Ash what he needed to know. Acres came to a decision and nodded.

"Okay. But, be prepared. We might have to flash out."

"Okay."

"Chu!" Pikachu said, pointing at the Pokémon. The puppy had looked away and looked at Foul instead, his eyes filled with fear.

"Hello _dog_." The two grunts next to him snickered. Ash growled. Once again, he tried to move but couldn't. Foul continued. "So, we need to figure out if you are the one we are looking for or if we just risked our lives in that damn fire for nothing. So, we are only going to run a few tests…" Foul nodded to the grunts and Ash covered Pikachu's eyes and ears. Those howls and whines the dog made would haunt Ash forever and he hoped he had covered Pikachu so he didn't hear and or see what happened. After everything died down, Ash took his hands off Pikachu and wrapped them around him again, holding him. Pikachu looked up at Ash.

"Chu?" _What did you do that for? _He had asked. Ash shook his head sadly. Pikachu understood and was now grateful that his trainer did that for him. Foul laughed.

"You are the one we have been looking for! Ha!" He started laughing gladly, knowing his lifetime search was compete. "I will rule the world!" Ash couldn't close his mouth. Arceus chuckled. Ash looked at the Pokémon.

"What's so funny? Didn't you see what they just did to-"

"Just close your mouth so you don't catch flies and let's go." Ash closed his mouth without a word. But, as they flashed out, Ash saw the Growlithe look at him in the eye, tears in his. Ash gasped. Then, he shook his head and closed his eyes, clutching Pikachu tight.

They moved to the next scene. Ash opened his eyes to see that they were in a cell and it was dark. Just one light bulb lit the room dimly. Ask looked around and then locked onto a small figure in the corner.

"What's-"

"We are five years closer. So now we are 75 years back and this Growlithe has been here for five years under the control of Foul. He has had countless tests run on him and more. He is powerful. He has the power of me times two."

"So…then why-"

"This Pokémon has never seen or felt love. Any love he got from his mother is gone, buried behind his mask of darkness." The cell door clanked open and Ash turned. Foul walked in.

"It is time. This is the time to prove to the world how powerful you are." Foul advanced towards the Pokémon. "Also, I got you something…" Growlithe poked his head up. "It's your new name. You will only response to this name and this one only from now on, understand?"

"Grow…" Growlithe muttered back.

"That's what I thought, now come here so I can put this on you." The Pokémon slowly got up from it's spot and walked towards the lit spot where Foul was standing. Ash, without knowing it, was holding his breath the whole time and then almost choked when he saw the battered Pokémon. His fur was mangled, the orange of it was darker and dirtier and he had a burn that made the back of his fur look black.

Midnight black. The dog sat in front of Foul and he fastened the collar around the Growlithe's neck. Foul smirked and then left the room. The Growlithe pawed at the tag hanging from the collar. It said Blake. Ash had wondered why the man had nicknamed the dog in his dream. In turn, the dog was forced. And so was Chung. Pikachu understood now too.

"Okay, so now you see the back story. Now, let's move on to when Blake gets away." Ash nodded and he closed his eyes. He felt the scene morph and then he opened his eyes again. They were before a burning city. Ash gawked as he looked around. Then, his eyes locked onto Foul and at his side was Blake. Blake's eyes were full of dark anger and Ash growled. He wanted to help, but he couldn't. He couldn't even move.

"Blake, Dark Flame!"

"What?" Ash asked the god, who just gave a sad look to Ash.

"Foul taught Blake his own moves that he made up, so no one could get through them. Blake even knows more than four moves." Ash closed him mouth. He didn't know what to say.

Blake was a legend.

Blake charged up an Ember and then fired it up into the sky, so he could have enough time to make a Shadow Ball. Ash couldn't stop staring. Blake knew more moves then his kind could learn. Blake charged up the Shadow Ball and then as the Ember came down from the sky, Blake mixed them together as the Ember landed and he then launched the attack. The attack did massive damage to the forest Blake was aiming at. The tree burned down in black flames. Foul laughed.

"Soon this city will be mine and all of it's pathetic people!" Blake's eyes switched from their normal blue to black and then back again. Ash was confused.

"What's happening?" He asked the god. Arceus looked away.

"The darkness within Blake has been controlling him all this time. Blake has finally gained enough power to fight back." Blake's eyes finally turned into the blue they always were. And he roared. He roared a mighty roar that it scared Foul. Foul backed up.

"What…what are y-you doing?" He stuttered out. Blake advanced towards him.

"GROOOOOOOW!" It roared again, scaring Foul to death. Foul backed up more.

"S-stop! I c-command you!"

"LITHE!" Blake growled back. Then, Blake jumped at Foul. Right at his neck. Ash covered Pikachu's eyes. He closed his for a second too and then when he opened his, he saw Blake running off, into the burning forest. Ash removed his hands from Pikachu's eyes and then looked over at the crumpled body of Foul.

"So, Blake won?" Arceus sighed.

"Not really. This is what caused Blake to be wanted. He had power that only legends had."

"But isn't he a hero for killing Foul?"

"No. The people didn't know that the real Blake was masked behind the Dark Growlithe that Foul made."

"That is wrong."

"Chu, pika."

"Yes but Ash, you weren't there to help. Or to even out the sides."

"I know, I wish I was."

"Hmm… okay. Let's go." Ash slowly nodded and closed his eyes. He felt the world move and then he opened his eyes again to see Blake sitting in a bush, taking a nap. "We are ten years closer now. That means we are 70 years back. It has been five years since the city burning down and such." Arceus answered Ash's question before he could ask it. "Blake…he is a father now. He has a family." Arceus hastily responded. Ash knew something was going to happen. And then Ash saw another Growlithe walk over to Blake. She nudged his nose and he woke up. He smiled when he saw her. She then looked behind her and two baby Growlithe came running over. Ash chuckled as the two puppies jumped on top of Blake.

They played around as the mother 'paw'-palmed. She walked away and left the boys to play around. Then after the dogs played around for a bit, a howl was heard. Blake suddenly stopped playing with the two puppies. His face was masked with a smile but on the inside, he was scared. His family was in danger. He quickly pushed the two puppies into the bush and then gave them a stern look.

"Lithe, Lithe, grow." Blake quickly said and the two pups nodded. He ran off, towards the scream. Arceus didn't have them follow Blake though. They stayed with the puppies. Ash wearily looked at Arceus. He had a sad look on his face.

"Arceus…please don't tell me…"

"Yes." The god gravely said. He didn't want to see this either. But, Ash needed to so that he knew Blake's background when he meant him. The pups looked at one another and stated put, just like their dad had said. Then, Ash's stomach dropped to his knees when he saw a shadow come closer out of the corner of his eye.

"Arceus, please let me save them." Ash begged, not taking his eyes off of the shadow. The god simply shook his head.

"I am sorry Ash. But, you cannot prevent or change history, only the future."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried and Ash focused back on the small pups. The figure had called out a Weezing.

"Fog." The figure's rusty voice whispered. Everything before them became covered by a black mist.

"No…NO!" Ash yelled. "NO!" But, it was too late. The fog cleared and the two pups were gone. Ash fell to his knees. "What happened to the mother?" Ash asked though his pain. Arceus sighed.

"The figure stole her too." Ash let a tear leak from his eye.

"No…" He mumbled. Pikachu rubbed his cheek against Ash's to try and reassure him. It kinda worked. No more tears fell but Ash was devastated. He might of not of known Blake of the pups but…he just watched them get stolen. Ash stood back up, his face stone with no emotions. "Who took them?" The god stayed silent. "Who-" Ash stopped mid-sentence when he saw Blake come back to the bush were the pups were supposed to be. Blake looked around, his calm mask finally coming off. Then he fell to a sitting position, his head bent looking at the ground.

"Team Galactic." Arceus answered. Ash felt the world close in around him. **(1) **Pikachu nearly choked on his own gulp of air.

"Pi…"

"Ash, please keep watching. This is important that you know this." Ash just nodded, and put Pikachu on his shoulder. If he kept holding him, he might drop him from shock. Blake then looked up, and his eyes were the pitch black they were from before. The darkness had taken him over again. Ash gasped. Blake then charged up a Dark Flame so powerful that Ash had to shield his eyes.

"GROOOOW! GROOOOOOOOWWWWW!" Ash opened his eyes to see the forest before him burning down in dark flames. He then saw Blake run off.

"Let's go." The god whispered. Ash closed his eyes and then they flashed to the next spot. They were now outside in a field. There was a boy, his father and his grandfather all working in a field. They were pulling plants.

"Dad, how much longer to we have to do this?" The little boy asked.

"It has been five weeks since the last incident and the whole forest burned down. This boy is ten years old and has just become a Pokémon trainer and he knows how to do everything, he just needs his first Pokémon. Little does he know, his first Pokémon is going to be coming very soon." Arceus told Ash. The father of the boy answered.

"Chung, just a few more plants. We need to make sure that these fields are good for harvesting season." Ash gasped.

"That's the old man from my dream!"

"Yes, didn't you notice that we went 80 years into the past and the old man from your dream is 70 years old?" Arceus replied in a 'duh' voice. Ash was still bullheaded at the most important times. Ash understood everything now. "Oh." Ash answered. Pikachu face-palmed.

"Pika, chu, pika?" _Really Ash? _Ash laughed at his Pokémon.

"Sorry, I'm Ash ya know." Arceus chuckled.

"Way to brighten the mood." Ash smiled. "Now, watch." They went back to paying attention to the scene. The grandfather chuckled.

"Zeng, just let him go run around. He needs a break."

"But father-" Zeng tried to respond but the old man held up a hand.

"Chung, go play around. We can finish up here." Chung's face lit up.

"Are you sure grandpa?"

"Yes child. Now go." Chung jumped up and hugged the old man. "Thanks grandpa! I'll be good!" Chung ran off and the old man chuckled. Then, the grandfather looked at Zeng.

" When he is as old as me, he will still have that energy." Zeng face-palmed.

"Okay father, I know, I know." The old man chuckled and they got back to work.

* * *

Chung ran around the outskirts of the fields, looking for his first Pokémon as well. Then, he saw an orange blur run in front of him. Chung stopped and looked the way the blur had gone. He saw a dog panting heavily. Chung slowly walked towards the dog. The dog suddenly turned and growled at Chung. Chung backed up slowly. He took out his Pokedex with a shaky hand. He flipped it open. The voice rang out in a cheery voice.

"Growlithe, the puppy Pokémon. Growlithe are very loyal and won't move unless their trainer commands it." **(2) **

"Growlithe huh?" Chung asked himself. Blake growled. Blake's eyes were their normal blue though so that was good. Chung took a step forward and Blake growled louder. "W-would you-u like to b-be my p-Pokémon?" Blake stayed in his defensive stance but stopped growling. "I mean we can't have a Pokémon battle because I don't have my first Pokémon. The Pokémon they had there weren't for me. I have been looking for the right one and," Chung paused and looked Blake in the eye.

"Lithe?" Blake asked. Chung finished his sentence.

"You seem to be the one." Blake studied Chung. He didn't look like one of the evil men. He looked normal.

"Grow, grow, lithe." Chung didn't understand the Pokémon.

"I am sorry, but I can't understand you." Blake's face was a brick. Chung couldn't read any emotion. Blake knew this person wasn't a bad guy. But, the one word Chung had mentioned had sparked interest into Blake. The word 'Pokémon Battle'. What was that? Thought's floated around in Blake's mind. Blake smiled.

"Growlithe!" Blake jumped onto Chung. Blake had finally found somebody that could love him. Chung chuckled and they played around. Then, Chung stood up and took out a pokeball. Chung explained the pokeball to Blake and Blake sat there in interest, listening, with his head titled to the side the whole time. Chung held out the pokeball and Blake walked up to it. He lifted his paw and touched the white button. Blake got sucked into the ball. Chung waited until he heard the click and then he cheered and let Blake out. He told him that he was now his Pokémon and they both hugged each other.

"But, this doesn't explain about what Chung said in my dream. He said that something happened with Blake when he got him."

"Just watch." They started to walk home and Chung looked down at his new friend. He then saw his friend's red collar around his neck. Chung stopped walking and reached for the collar. Blake froze, scared of what was going to happen. The last one someone touched him….it wasn't pretty; it hurt. Blake was about to bite Chung until Chung gently touched Blake's name tag and rubbed his thumb over it.

"Blake…" Chung uttered to himself. Chung looked Blake in the eye. "Do you want to be called Blake?" No answer. "No?"

"Grow…lithe." Chung smiled.

"So Blake it is!" Chung petted Blake on the head and Blake was surprised from the motion. They kept walking.

But, once they reached the house, disaster struck.

* * *

Chung looked up from Blake. "So, we farm and-" He stopped talking once he saw what was in front of him. He also froze in place. Blake looked over at his new master. He nudged his hand.

"Grow?" Blake saw Chung's eyes focused on something in front of them. Blake looked forward as well. His stomach dropped. The miles of fields were on fire. The small house that Chung, Zeng and his grandfather lived in was burning in flames. Chung's eyes filled with tears. He fell to the ground. Blake noticed and rubbed his head against Chung's bowed head. Chung hugged Blake and cried into his fur. Ash wanted to fall down and cry.

"Who's behind this?" The god just looked forward. Ash did too and his question was answered. A lone man stood in front of Chung and Blake. He had the Team Galactic symbol on his jacket. He also had a hellish smile on his face. Ash became filled with rage. The only thing that calmed him down was Pikachu. Chung looked up from Blake's fur but didn't let go of Blake. After seeing that Symbol though, Blake tensed. He knew that symbol with all of his life. That was the symbol that haunted his dream and killed his heart. His eyes became black, but Chung didn't notice.

"Boy, if you hand over that Pokémon to me then I will spare your family." Chung looked at Blake.

"Over my dead body." Chung spat back, wiping his tears. Chung stood up and Blake stayed there. "Blake?" Chung asked. He bent down and saw Blake's eyes; and how they were that devil black. "B-Blake?" Chung asked, now scared. Blake started charging a Dark Pledge. **(3)** Chung backed up. Blake let out his attack. Ash covered his eyes. Ash removed his arms and saw that the field around Blake was scorched black. Everything in five mile ratios was. Blake's eyes returned to normal and then he remembered.

_Chung. _

He looked everywhere and then his eyes landed on a body and few feet behind him. Blake ran over there and then saw his trainer…black. Blake held back tears. He heard sirens in the distance. If the police caught Blake doing this-they would kill him. Blake dragged the ten-year-old's body to the forest. Then he made it to a clearing. Blake made sure nothing was around. Then, Arceus brought them up to where the clouds were. Ash saw a bright spot on the earth.

"Is Chung okay?"

"Yes, Blake healed him, hence their long-lasting friendship and-"

"The thing that happened. But, how did Blake forget that in my dream?"

"Blake pushed all of his dark memories behind him and placed all of the good ones in front."

"So, where my dream cut off…" Pikachu looked at Ash with worry written in his features. Arceus sighed.

"Blake's rage came though even after 67 years of it not. Blake killed Chung. But, Chung forgave Blake. Blake just doesn't know that because he can't talk to Chung anymore. Right now, Blake is wandering around, looking for hope and you are going to bring to him by making him become your Pokémon." Ash didn't realize that they were back inside the hospital room. Ash took a seat on the bed.

"I'm injured. If a soul sees me leave here, they will kill me for getting out of bed." The god chuckled.

"Well," Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder. "What if I told you Blake was just outside this hospital wandering around?"

* * *

**~A.N~  
(1)-**** Image when you're watching something and then the character sees something unbelievable. And then the screen zooms out a little and everything spins…that's kinda what is happening here…if you don't understand PM me**

**(2)- This is from Dawn's Pokedex in D/P. I do not own this little saying thing.**

**(3)- A.N- Like fire pledge**


	12. Chapter Twelve

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Twelve- Clash

Ash nearly fell out of the bed. He was shocked. Blake was walking around outside, _right now_. Arceus watched Ash with interest. Ash looked at Arceus.

"How is he still alive?" The god walked towards the window.

"Foul used a special serum to turn Blake immortal. Blake will live forever unless otherwise stated." Ash stood up and Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.

"What do you mean by otherwise stated?" Arceus started to disappear.

"Unless the legend states otherwise. Now, Blake is in the woods to the west of here-not too far. You should be able to handle it. Please be careful and it will be very hard to gain Blake's trust. He has been though a lot. Goodbye." The god had gone and now it was just Ash and Pikachu in the room. Ash sighed and looked at Pikachu.

"So, you ready to battle Pikachu?" Pikachu looked at Ash with fire in his eyes.

"Chu, pika!" Ash smiled and went into the bathroom. He looked around and found a plain white shirt and some sweat pants. He replaced his hospital cloths with those and headed out the door. He decided to make one stop before he left. He made sure no one saw him as he snuck though the hallways. Then, he found the room he was looking for. 2o1 was written in cursive letters on the front of the door. Ash had found out her room number by listening to some doctors talk. Ash sighed, preparing himself for what was to come. He gently put his hand on the knob and slowly pushed the door open. He was half hoping for her to be awake, but half hoping her to be asleep for just the sake of not wanting to talk. He walked in the dark room and saw her in the bed with her hair all over the place.

_She won't be happy about that when she wakes up, _Ash thought to himself. He then saw what he was looking for on the nightstand next to her bed. He walked closer to her and saw that she was indeed asleep, probably dreaming happily about her and him. Ash smiled and slowly grabbed the hat of the table. He stuck it on his head and Pikachu grinned. Ash now looked like before, just without his signature jeans, gloves and jacket.

Ash smiled one last time and then left the room, gently clicking the door shut behind him.

* * *

Ash made it out of the hospital without getting caught. He and Pikachu then traveled to where the forest should have been and looked around for a while. The noises of the night echoing off of everything causing the world to seem so alive. Ash was about to give up when he saw a shadow jump out in front of him. Pikachu jumped of his shoulder and took a fighting stance in front of Ash. He wasn't letting anyone attack his trainer. Ash squinted his eyes, trying to see what Pokémon it was but then a Flamethrower was shot at him and Pikachu. Ash's eyes widened as Pikachu jumped in front of the flame. But then, Ash called out an attack.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

"Chu!" Pikachu's tail glowed white and sliced the Flamethrower in half. Ash heard the other Pokémon growl.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHHHHUU!" Pikachu's Thunderbolt made a direct hit to the Pokémon and they heard it whimper. Then, everything went quiet. Ash got worried. Then, a dark flame shot out from the shadowed Pokémon and Ash gasped as it hit Pikachu dead on. Pikachu whimpered and fell to the ground. The move that the other Pokémon just did was a move that wasn't even possible.

It was a _dark flame. _Ash shook the thought out of his head and looked at Pikachu. Pikachu was trying to stand up.

"Pikachu, are you alright?" Pikachu looked back at Ash quickly and then locked eyes on his rival again.

"CHU!" Pikachu yelled, causing Ash to smile wide.

"Alright Pikachu. Let's win this! Volt Tackle!" Pikachu charged up and became the head of a yellow looking spear and started running towards the shadow. The shadow dodged easily and Pikachu went at it again. The Pokémon dodged again and Ash became mad. "Use Iron Tail when you're close enough!" Ash yelled and Pikachu nodded as he went after the blur again. Pikachu rammed into the shadow and then spun around and used Iron Tail. It hit dead on. Pikachu smirked. The shadow growled louder and then let out a roar.

"GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" It boomed and Ash looked startled. Pikachu jumped ten feet into the air. The Pokémon then charged up another Flamethrower, as the red flame got bigger and bigger inside it's mouth. Ash let out a shaky breath. _If that hits Pikachu, we are done. _He thought with worry. _I don't even know what type of Pokémon this is, nor how to beat it! _The Flamethrower was almost charged up all of the way and Pikachu looked at Ash with uncertainly. Then, Arceus' voice boomed though Ash's mind, making Ash clutch his head in pain. Pikachu saw this and tried to run over but Ash shook his head.

"I'm fine Pikachu…" He got out as the god's voice boomed though his head again. It said the same thing as before. The shadow let the Flamethrower go and Ash yelled no. Pikachu heard and used a Thunderbolt to catch the flames right in the middle. The power surged together and then Ash held his head tighter as the voice ringed though his head again-saying the same thing as before. Ash watched as the field in front of him blew up in a firefly red and a bright yellow. Ash had to shield his eyes as the dust cleared and then he saw what he didn't want to see. Pikachu was on the ground knocked out and the shadow Pokémon stepped forward.

Ash gasped and let go of his head. Arceus' voice boomed though his mind one more time; saying the same thing one last time.

_LEGEND!_ Ash ran to Pikachu's side and gently picked him up as his eyes darted back to the figure. Before him, stood the legend.

Blake.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Yami Hinote

Dark Fire

Chapter Thirteen - Odds

Ash saw Pikachu lift his head weakly to look at Blake. Pikachu's eyes widened when he realized that it was Blake. The little mouse looked up at Ash and he looked down with surprise in his eyes.

"Chu, pika…" Pikachu mumbled quietly so that only Ash could hear. Ash looked at Blake again; fur was matted down in spots and he was very dirty. A very foul smell also came from him but his body was still the natural color of a Growlithe. The mix of fiery colors made the coat look like it was a dancing flame along the gleam of the moonlight. But, it was Blake's eyes that caught Ash and Pikachu most off guard. The Growlithe's eyes were a dark blue, not like ice but not like the calm ocean either. Almost like the sky as it darkened in the evening. Ash and Blake locked eyes for a moment. Ash's eyes were determined, while Blake's were showing only distrust.

Ash could understand why Blake wouldn't trust anyone. Ash wouldn't trust anyone either if he had gone through what Blake did. He tore his eyes away from Blake's for a moment to look down at his weak partner in his arms. Pikachu was still watching Blake with…trust? No, not trust; _hope_ maybe? Ash couldn't decide. But Pikachu was watching the dog like it was prey. Blake looked at the two one last time and then took off into the bushes. Ash could still see the Pokémon as it darted from tree to tree. The trainer tightened his grip on the electric type, and ran off after the Growlithe.

Ash knew he wouldn't be able to run as fast, but he could still try. Blake looked back and saw Ash and Pikachu still after him. Blake stopped running suddenly and shot a burst of fire at the two, hoping to scare them away. Ash's eyes widened. He jumped off into a bush on the side and felt the fire sweep past him. He clutched Pikachu tightly; fearing that if he would let go, the worst would happen. After a few moments of them sitting there, Ash peeked his head up from the bush to see the dog glaring at him. It's muzzle opened wide, and to his horror, Ash saw the dog charge up a massive Dark Pledge; the red of the burning fire mixing with the evil of the dark matter to create an over-whelming attack. Ash jumped out of the bush just as Growlithe released the dark mass.

The fire scorched the bush as they dived to the side; the fire igniting a few trees hanging down next to it. Blake let a pant escape him and mentally hit himself. _Releasing pants or whimpers are signs of weakness._ A dark voice boomed though Blake's mind. Blake fell to his hind and started breathing heavily. The voice inside his head was gaining power and getting louder. Ash saw Pikachu squirm in his arms-signaling that Pikachu wanted to fight again-but Ash held him close.

"Pikachu, this is bigger than you think." Ash uttered as he saw Blake's face scrunch up in pain. Then, everything seemed to freeze in time for a moment; the wind even stopped its howling. Ash held his breath as he saw Blake let out a roar. The roar didn't reach his ears though; he was still frozen. All Ash could see was the way Blake's mouth moved. Then, time resumed and Ash gasped as Blake's eyes snapped open. They were pitch black, the hazy blue gone, replaced by all of the pent-up hatred the Pokémon experienced throughout its life.

Then, the Pokémon released another growl. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's hands and took a fighting stance. Ash face-palmed. "Pikachu," He almost whinnied, clearly not in the mood. "Didn't you listen to what I just-" Pikachu sent Ash a death glare. He held up his hands in defense. "Okay! Okay! Sheesh!" Ash then chuckled. "In one ear and out the other. _Now_ I understand what Dawn meant by-" Another growl escaped the angry dog and cut Ash's wonderland thoughts off. Pikachu became stiffer, his tail like a frozen lightning bolt. Ash used his initiative, and attacked first. "Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!"

"Chu!" Pikachu scrunched up, closing his eyes, and charged all of his energy. Then, his eyes snapped open and he jumped, releasing the crackling yellow energy and gaining a direct hit on Growlithe. The dog Pokémon stumbled backwards, clearly not expecting his weak opponent to gain its power back so quickly.

"Grrr…" Blake growled lowly. It was still holding back the darkness as long as he could, but this battle wasn't helping. Blake's eyes grew darker. "Grow…LITHE!" It yelled as boiling flames shot from his mouth and rocketed towards the yellow mouse. Pikachu jumped to the left-narrowly avoiding some serious burns.

"Iron Tail!" Ash yelled, watching the Growlithe in extreme concentration. Pikachu's tailed glowed a faint pearl as it charged up the steel-type attack. Pikachu spun and kicked itself off the ground, gaining momentum as it tore through the air and towards the Growlithe. Pikachu spun again and crashed his tail onto the back of Blake, who took the hit with his eyes squeezed shut. Pikachu quickly darted back to his spot on the other side of the 'battle-field'. They both waited for the legend to make his move. Ash saw Blake's fur puff up suddenly; looking like his fur had darkened lightly. Ash tried his hardest to not gasp at the sight, but it was pretty hard not to. Then, Blake started charging up an attack that Ash didn't know. That isn't good… he thought as he gulped loudly. A dark circle seemed to engulf Blake, concealing it from the world in a veil of shadows too thick for the trainer's eyes to penetrate. It looked as if it was using protect. Ash just watched, waiting anxiously for the legends next move.

"Pikachu, get ready to dodge…" Ash yelled, straining his worn out voice. Pikachu nodded. Then, without any warning, the black circle disappeared and a white beam shot at Pikachu, powering towards the stunned mouse. The beam had streaks of black mixed within the pure white beam of energy, like a black and white laser. "That's Hyper Beam mixed in with something else… PIKACHU GET OUT OF THERE!" Pikachu shook his head, ridding his shock, and waited until the beam was right on top of him, before jumping up into the air. The beam still wasn't fading as Pikachu started to slowly descend to the ground. "Pikachu! Thunder Bolt!" Ash called desperately, hoping Pikachu could hear him as he jumped out of the way of the beam. Pikachu heard Ash and twirled in the air- doing 360's. Ash was surprised that Pikachu could still launch the Thunder Bolt after that.

The Thunderbolt cut the beam in half and the beam was quickly destroyed. "Way to go Pikachu!" Ash cheered as Pikachu landed perfectly. Pikachu looked back and smiled at its trainer.

"Pika-chuuuuuu!" Pikachu chirped. The dust cleared and Ash saw Blake still standing but now very tired, panting heavily as it sucked as much air into its lungs as possible. Ash's stomach lurched a little at the deeply saddening sight.

"Did I go too far?" Ash mumbled to himself. Pikachu looked back at Ash wearily. Blake then growled a low growl and shot a Flamethrower at the un-aware Pikachu, burying the little mouse by the flames. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled, hoping his Pokémon was alright. Seconds ticked by, and the flames broke off, revealing Pikachu was fine, besides the fact that he now had a burn and some scratches. "Pikachu, we need to finish this… Quick attack mixed with Volt Tackle!" Pikachu smiled to himself as he charged up his most powerful attack. He had been waiting for his trainer to mix a move. Blake stayed rooted to the ground, shocked as Pikachu added in the white light of the Quick Attack. Then, Pikachu ran at tremendous speeds, leaving streaks of white and yellow in his wake. The yellow mouse used all of his power and rammed deathly into the weak legend. As soon as contact was made, an explosion rocketed through the sky, tearing through the air, sending up clouds of dust to cover the end result of the deadly attack.

Ash knew it was all over. He could have guessed that from the distance. He ran towards the dust cloud and put an arm over his mouth as he waved his way through.

"Pika-cough-chu!" Ash yelled, hoping for something. He stopped and coughed as the dust cleared. Pikachu was standing up glaring at Blake. Blake was standing too. It was a showdown. Ash watched; his eyes locked on both of the exhausted Pokémon. Seconds felt like hours, as the final showdown stretched onwards. Then, Blake fell over, collapsing in a heap on the floor. Ash ran to Pikachu and pulled him into a tight hug. "You did it buddy. Thanks."

"Chuuu." Pikachu almost purred. Ash grinned and let Pikachu weakly jump on his shoulder. Ash then walked slowly over to where Blake laid; he was bleeding from a spot on his cheek and he had a lot of scratches all over him. Ash sighed, knowing he had over-done it. He had only done this twice before. Once by accident and the other time on purpose and for a good reason.

He gently touched Blake to see if he would move at his touch, but he didn't stir. Ash mumbled something Pikachu couldn't hear to himself and then he felt the Pokémon's neck. But, his hands came across something else. He used his other hand to brush some of the fur away and in his hand there was a dimly colored red collar. His hand then ran across the hard metal of the name-tag and Ash flipped it over to read the name. It said three simple lines:

**Blake**

**'Dark Fire'**

**Let the fire burn within you brightly, but don't let it **_**control **_**you.**

Ash smiled. He swore he heard that last saying before…maybe from his dad. But, he didn't feel like bringing that up now. He gently lifted Blake up, not surprised that he was light. He probably hasn't had a good meal in ages…wait…that could be literally too. Ash almost laughed at his thought, but then he shook it off and stood up. Pikachu grabbed onto his shoulder tightly, still weak from the battle. Ash held onto Blake tightly.

Ash sighed and slowly walked back to the Pokémon center, two weak Pokémon at his mercy.

* * *

Ash walked into the center, the glass doors sliding open slower than Ash thought was possible. He was meant by a smiling Nurse Joy; they never sleep apparently.

"How may I- oh my! What happened?"

"We had a rough battle. Please can you make sure they are both okay?" The nurse nodded quickly and took Blake into her arms first. She darted to the back and then came back, her hands out for Pikachu. Ash reluctantly handed over the Pokémon, who had fallen asleep halfway through their journey tonight.

The nurse took Pikachu to the back as well and then Ash was forced to wait in the waiting room; nothing moving except the gentle sway of the trees in the window and the hum of the heater.

* * *

Nurse Joy walked into the waiting room at a fast pace, causing Ash to immediately lift his head off his arm. He pulled his hat back up on his head, so that he could see the Nurse's eyes and use his power to see if she was lying about anything.

"Ash, that Growlithe you brought in is awake and very wild. Could you please come in and try to calm the Pokémon?" Ash nodded; his voice too dry to talk. Ash followed Nurse Joy to the room Blake was in and his heart dropped. Blake was thrashing around…in his sleep. Ash walked over to Blake and put a hand on the dog's shoulder. Blake stopped squirming.

"Blake, listen to me. Wake up. You are alright. It is just a dream. I and Pikachu took it a little too far and right now you are getting help." Blake stayed still and tilted his head, edging Ash to explain more. Ash put his other hand on the back of his neck. "Umm…sorry but," He gave a look to Nurse Joy and she nodded and left the room to go and check on Pikachu. Ash looked around and bent down next to Blake's ear. "But I am supposed to gain your trust. I am supposed to save the world," Blake's eyes snapped open.

"Lithe, grow, lithe?!" Ash looked around the room.

"You can trust me. Arceus himself brought me back to life." Blake smiled slightly.

"Grow, grow, lithe."

"Really?"

"Lithe!"

"Alright," Ash answered as he left the room. What Blake said echoed through his mind:

_Give me some time to think about it. The odds have never been in my favor._


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Fourteen Thousands

Ash was in the waiting room taking another nap when Nurse Joy walked up to him. Ash took his head off his hands and looked up, amusement filling his tired eyes. Nurse Joy smiled the best she could and gave him a look that was more than a million words. He jumped up and nearly made Joy have a heart attack. She only spoke two words.

And those two words made Ash's world turn upside down.

* * *

Ash ran down the hallway, pushing people and Pokémon that were scattered around out of his way. _She had to be lying. It's just not possible. _He watched the numbers of the rooms fly by as he darted past them with all of his might. He skidded to a stop when he saw the dreaded numbers he was searching for. He slammed the door open and darted over to the lump on the bed. The yellow fur of the Pokémon was matted down and the red slowly dripping down from the cut on his back. Ash froze. He was in shock. His friend battled to his last breath for him. Ash felt a hand on his shoulder and sharply turned around, afraid it was the devil coming for his friend. Nurse Joy smiled and removed her hand. Ash's body visibility relaxed.

"Ash, that one gash was just too much." Ash nodded. He risked another glance at the yellow mess. Some of the dried blood was crusted. Some of the blood was the same shade of his burn, but Ash didn't care for his burn right now. He didn't care that he had died and came back just for the world. Nurse Joy then frowned, knowing she couldn't cheer the boy up. He left the room, clicking the door shut behind her. Ash reached his hand out towards his friend. His hand gently touched the spot that had caused the most. The gash felt like it was throbbing under Ash's fingers. Ash looked at his friend's eyes. The eyes were closed, but Ash could only image what they would look like. He then let a tear leak from his cheek.

Why hold on?

Why try? Ash let all of his pain out. He broke down into tears. He didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

"He's not in his room."

"I think he left. His yellow friend isn't here either. Maybe he ditched."

"No, that kind-hearted boy? He saved my daughter's Pichu." The two voices kept bouncing back and forth in Dawn's mind and she opened her crusted eyes. Her room was bright and she saw shadows outside her door. Those were the two voices. Her room was eerily quiet and she didn't like it one bit. She then got paranoid and took two poke balls from the nightstand next to her.

"Togekiss, Prinplup come on out!" She whispered-shouted. The two Pokémon chirped happily as they formed on the floor but their happy moods were easily destroyed when they saw their trainer scared to death on the bed. Prinplup jumped onto the bed next to Dawn and nudged her gently with his nose. Dawn smiled. Togekiss got on the other side of Dawn and did the same thing. Dawn was still scared, but not as much. Then, the earlier conversation between the two doctors came to her mind. She went to grab Ash's hat but found only air there. She quickly turned her head and gasped when she saw nothing was there. "Where's…" She trailed off. _His yellow friend isn't here either. _Pikachu. _He's not in his room. _Ash. Dawn locked eyes with Togekiss. "Ash is gone." Prinplup's mouth dropped open.

"Prin!?" Dawn nodded her head. Prinplup jumped off the bed and puffed up it's chest. "Lup, prin!" Dawn chuckled at her Pokémon's bravery.

"Let's find Ash." Dawn whispered back and both of the Pokémon nodded, willing to do anything for their trainer.

For their friend.

* * *

The wet tears were everywhere. Ash didn't care. His friend was _gone_.

_Ash… _Ash grunted.

_I don't want to talk. I don't want to hear any of your 'wisdom' crap. _The god stayed quiet. Ash didn't mean any of that, but he was depressed. He lost Pikachu. He didn't want to get harassed by a god right now; or pestered either about saving the damn world. He went back to sobbing. The cries racked his body and his brain, but how was he to stop them? The tears flowed freely, like the waves of the ocean raging against the shore. He didn't even hear the door open. He didn't feel the brush of fur against his hand. He didn't hear the pained whine come from the dog. Ash was too lost in his own world. The orange dog then let out a breath and hopped on the table, next to the yellow lifeless body. The dog rubbed his cheek against Ash's. Ash sniffled and looked up.

Blake's eyes were filled with fire. Fire of hope. Fire that was so powerful, but yet so controlled. They both locked eyes and Ash felt his pain suddenly wash away. Ash wiped the tears out of his eyes and Blake smiled.

"Blake, he's gone…" Ash managed to get out without bursting into tears again. Blake simply shook his head. Ash's face shined in confusion. Blake shook his head no again.

_Ash, Pikachu isn't dead. _Ash nearly fell over at the god's worlds. Blake saw Ash's shocked expression and nodded, agreeing with what the god had said.

_What do you mean? _Ash managed to think back. He heard the god chuckle lightly. Not the best time to laugh but it did make Ash crack a smile.

_Pikachu's heart and soul would be up here with me if he is dead. He just needs a little push to make his heart start beating again. Follow Blake's lead and he will teach you what to do. _Ash now had that dumb-folded look on his face again. Blake smiled lightly at the boy's expression. Blake put a paw on the gash that Nurse Joy claimed to stop Pikachu's heart. Blake held out his other paw to Ash. Ash eyed the paw with question. Blake looked at Ash with a death glare. Ash held his hands up in defense.

"Alright, alright!" He put his right hand on Blake's paw. He felt a strong energy flow though him and he saw a golden light go from his hand into Blake's paw and then into the gash on Pikachu. Ash's eyes widened. The golden energy then engulfed Pikachu and Blake removed his paw from Ash's hand and put it over his other paw that was on Pikachu. The golden light now filled the room, making Ash cover his eyes.

A miracle was happening.

* * *

Dawn was walking around town, trying to figure out possible spots Ash could be. Togekiss was in the sky, looking for any sign of the boy or his yellow clump. The hospital would only release Dawn if somebody went with her, because they were afraid that she might fall and injure her head more. So both Brock and Gary admitted themselves to go with Dawn. Kenny wanted to go to but Dawn talked him out of it. She didn't want to be called 'Dee-Dee' all day. She could deal with Brock and maybe even a stuck-up Gary but Kenny? No way, not today. Gary was actually acting normal again today. Dawn had a feeling that he was as worried as Dawn was. Brock was looking all around, watching his surroundings as well. Gary was on the left of Dawn and he was watching the road in front of them, considering Dawn was in her own thoughts and Brock was eyeing the trees and bushes on Dawn's right. Gary scratched the back of his neck as they rounded a corner. They were now across from the Pokémon Center. Gary looked between Dawn and Brock. Brock caught his eye.

"Should we check the center just to make sure he didn't do something stupid?" Gary asked the two, his voice hinting a laugh. Brock nodded.

"I think that's a great idea. Dawn, what do you say?" Dawn snapped out of her day-dreaming and looked around franticly.

"Oh! W-what did you say Brock?" She stumbled out. Gary chuckled quietly. Brock gave her a warm smile.

"I asked if you wanted to check the Pokémon center."

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Dawn answered. Just then, Togekiss swooped down from the sky and landed in front of the trio.

"Kiss, kiss!" She chirped, making Dawn look to the ground.

"Dawn, what did she say?" Gary asked, afraid it was bad news. Dawn smiled and pulled out Togekiss' pokeball.

"Thanks Togekiss." Dawn said to the Pokémon as she returned into the ball. Dawn turned to the two boys and frowned. "Ash isn't anywhere in the open, so he must be inside a building. He wasn't even in the forest next to us." Gary nodded and Brock started walking towards the center, the other two at his heels.

"Well, let's check in here and then we can check the other buildings." Dawn followed without question, knowing Ash probably did do something that landed his thick-headed butt in the Center.

* * *

The light faded and Ash uncovered his eyes. Blake slowly lifted his paws off Pikachu's now healed gash and fell onto his side; Blake's remaining power used up. Ash picked up Blake and held him close to his chest. He was grateful for what the dog had done.

"Thanks Blake." Ash uttered to the dog's ear. Blake's ear perked up and Ash held Blake tighter.

"Lithe, grow…" Blake mumbled back. Ash then switched Blake around so that he could hold onto the dog with one hand and using his other arm, he felt Pikachu's pulse. It was beating slowly but steadily, Ash nearly fell over with delight. Pikachu was alive.

"Pikachu…?" Ash asked quietly as he scratched Pikachu behind his right ear. He heard a soft groan come from the yellow lump. Ash's eyes were gleaming like crystals. His friend was okay.

"Chuuuuuu…" Pikachu uttered almost silently as Ash rubbed his head. Pikachu's eyes opened to see his trainer above him with a passed out Blake in his one arm. Ash picked up Pikachu and Pikachu snuggled into Ash's chest. The two words Joy had murmured to Ash didn't make his world fade. Those two words now gave him _hope_. _**He's gone. **_This one notation was worth more than a thousand words.

But, who needed a thousand words for this moment anyway?


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Fifteen Clash of Fire and Water Part One

"I missed you so much buddy…" Ash whispered to Pikachu's ear. Pikachu nearly gripped Ash's shirt tighter; as if a mere plead of saying 'don't leave me'.

"Pi, pika, chu, pika." Pikachu mumbled back.

"Yeah…you know Pikachu, you didn't have to go that far for me." Pikachu tilted his head up at Ash.

"Chu, Pikachu."

"Just, don't do it again okay?"

"Pikachu, pi!" Pikachu jumped out of Ash's grip and hopped onto Ash's shoulder, almost completely oblivious that he was dead just mere seconds ago. The only thing noticeable was a thin pink line stretching from the middle of Pikachu's back to a few inches before his tail. Ash wrapped his arms around Blake in a baby-like hold of a matter and walked out of the room to find Nurse Joy.

Blake needed some rest.

* * *

Dawn and the two boys walked through the door of the center calmly. They weren't expecting anything to have gone too badly wrong with Ash. He was a tough, bull-headed boy after-all. Dawn let out a long breath when she saw that the room was almost empty, there were only a few scattered people in chairs. Brock saw Dawn's distress and nudged Gary. Gary glanced over at Dawn and noticed as well.

"I'm gonna go and see if Ash might've checked into a room." Gary said, heading over to the counter. Brock put a supportive hand on Dawn's shoulder. Dawn looked over at Brock and her eyes displayed everything. She couldn't hide her feelings.

"Dawn, I'm sure he's fine. He's tough. He d-always makes it out." Dawn nodded her head sluggishly and then Gary hurried over, his face twisted in an urgent matter. Dawn's heart dropped to her knees and both of the boys noticed her unease. "What is it Gary?" Brock asked, hoping whatever the professor had to say wasn't that bad. Gary just shook his head and started to head down the hallway, ushering a confused Brock and frightened Dawn to follow him. They made it to the middle of the hallway when they meant up with the person they were looking for.

"Guys-" Gary started but then stopped as he saw Ash stop in front of them, a worn-out Blake in his arms. Ash gave a small smile and then Dawn tackled him into a hug. Ash chuckled and then hugged her back with one arm. She backed away, remembering about the dog in Ash's arms. Gary's mouth was wide open and Brock was smiling.

"So, Ash, did you get in trouble?" Pikachu glanced at Ash and he looked at Pikachu from the corner of his eye.

"Pika, pika." Pikachu muttered to himself as he face-palmed. Ash grinned. _If only you knew. _Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ear and then looked at Brock, who had asked the question.

"No…we just made a pit-stop." Dawn was watching Blake was a glint of amusement in her eye.

"Ash, why do you have this Pokémon?" She finally asked, saving Ash his expiation of why he was here. He looked down at the sleeping dog in his arms and then turned his head to look at Pikachu.

"Chu!" Pikachu answered Ash's glaze and Ash looked back at his friends.

"Let's take a seat."

* * *

"So…here we are now." Ash finished, as he looked around the room at everybody's faces. He had just told the trio about Blake and what Arceus had said to him. Pikachu was next to Dawn and Blake was in Ash's lap. Blake's eyes started to flutter open at that moment.

"Grow, grow." Blake mumbled as he looked up to Ash and gave a weak smile. Then Blake turned his head to where Brock, Gary and Dawn were sitting. Pikachu was grinning from his spot next to Dawn.

"Pika, pi!" Pikachu said happily, believing that Blake was already friendly with everyone. How wrong he was. Blake jumped out of Ash's lap and took a defensive stance in front of Ash.

"GROWLITHE!" The Pokémon roared as flames shot from his mouth. Ash's eyes enlarged in shock but he couldn't move. He was stationary to the spot. Pikachu knew his trainer was frozen so he jumped in front of the flame and used a fast but frail Thunderbolt to block the on-coming flames. The red and yellow merged together and caused a bright light to explode from the meeting. The shockwave from the colors crashing caused everyone to fly backwards. Dust occupied the room and covered everything, the colors now absent. Ash recovered from his shock and waved his arms around, trying to clear the smoke so he could see what occurred. The smoke cleared and he saw Blake growling and Pikachu panting heavily but still standing. Pikachu was un-prepared for the attack so he shielded everyone with his body and his Thunderbolt. Like trainer like Pokémon.

Ash ran to Pikachu's side and tried to pick him up but Pikachu hopped out of the way. Pikachu looked up at Ash with a twinkle of fury in his eyes and Ash nodded. The room they were in was demolished but no one came in to see what was a matter. Ash stood behind Pikachu. If a battle is what the Pokémon wanted then a battle is what they would get.

"Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" Ash said as he threw his arm out and pointed at Blake. Blake's eyes were at the border-line of their icy blue and pitch black. Ash didn't see this yet though.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled in a 'yes' and started charging towards Blake, his body bordered by a bright, glowing creamy yellow light. Ash turned away from the battle to look at his friends real fast. Gary was helping Brock and Dawn off the floor. Dawn saw Ash as Gary was helping her up and nodded. Ash nodded back and turned to the battle to see Blake unleashing a fury-red Flamethrower. The Flamethrower was no match for the Volt Tackle though as Pikachu ran right through it, the yellow peaking though cracks in the sides as Pikachu kept running forward.

Pikachu the made contact with Blake, sending the dog flying backwards. Ash ran out next to Pikachu and waved his hand in a stop motion. Pikachu understood and jumped on Ash's shoulder. Ash advanced towards the motionless body of Blake, fear over-taking him that he over did it again. Ash crouched next to Blake and saw his chest moving up and down slowly…then a wave of black came from Blake's body and sent Ash and Pikachu flying backwards. All the way over to the other wall.

Blake was now standing, his fur ruffled and his eyes…a dark black. Dawn and Brock ran over to Ash and helped him up, Ash's vision blurring as he tried to stay standing. Dawn picked up Pikachu and gently cradled him in her arms. Pikachu's eyes were opened half-way and he had a small frown on his face. He also uttered a small 'chu' when Dawn had picked him up. Dawn then turned around and saw Brock supporting Ash the best he could. Ash was trying to get out of Brock's grip; trying to reach Blake.

"Ash stop!" Brock yelled, causing Ash to fight only harder. Where was Gary?

"Alright, you are going down! No one hurts my friends!" Gary yelled to the panting dog as he took a pokeball out of his pocket. Blake's fur was starting to turn darker and darker as the seconds past. Soon, Blake wouldn't be able to control it and it would be all over. "Blastoise! Come on out!" Gary threw the pokeball and the blue beast came out with a roar. "Blastoise use Hydro Cannon!" Gary shouted. Blake growled louder.

"Blast!" Blastoise responded and started charging his water attack. The blue circle got bigger and bigger as formed above the turtle's chest. Then, Blastoise released the attack and Blake just stood there as the sky blue cannon hit him. "TOISE!" Blastoise roared louder as the attack became more effective.

Then the blue disappeared in a flash and everything when still. Blake was still standing, almost with only little damage. Blake was moved more towards the wall but he was still standing. Blake's fur was almost completely black now and there was no stopping it from taking over the poor dog. Or…was there?


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Sixteen-Clash of Fire and Water Part Two

Gary couldn't believe his eyes. He _didn't want_ to believe his eyes. There he was; battling a fire-type Pokémon with a water-type and Blake was still standing after being hit with a full-pledged water attack.

"Blast…" Blastoise muttered in disgust at himself. He should have been able to take out Blake with just that one attack. Gary shook his head quickly and snapped himself out of his faze. He noticed his Pokémon's distress and frowned.

"Blastoise!" He called, keeping his voice astonishingly at a steady tone. The blue boulder turned and looked grimly at his master. Gary let a small smile bloom on his lips. "Blastoise, Blake's stronger than we think. So, don't dis-honor yourself if he doesn't faint from just one small attack." Blastoise stood there, pondering his master's words. Then, the blue turtle let a smile form on his lips. Gary's smile grew wider. "We can take him, can't we Blastoise?"

While all of this was occurring, Blake was now fully taken over by the darkness. His fur was a grim black and his eyes were blacker than a black hole. Blake watched closely as Gary talked to his water-type. Blake smirked. With a huff, he started to charge up a Hyper-Beam. But, instead of a white circle charging up in Blake's open mouth, a murky one did. It was gloomy and had some rims of chrome shining though the corners.

No one else detected this attack expect for Ash. He once again struggled against Brock's grip, but Brock didn't budge. Ash stopped, as all he could was watch as the black mass became greater and greater.

"BLASTOISE!" Blastoise roared in response to Gary's prep talk. Gary threw his hands up victory and then pointed his right hand at Blake.

"Alright! Use Aqua Tail!"

"Toise!" But, just as Blastoise turned, Blake released the Hyper-beam at Blastoise. With no time to dodge, the shiny black ray hit Blastoise right in the center of his chest. Gary heard a groan come from the Pokémon as he jumped out of the way; Blastoise shooting all the way backwards and hitting the far wall. Blake was now panting heavily from the powerful attack. Gary ran over to Blastoise in shock. Dawn did as well.

"Blastoise!" Gary cried as he saw his Pokémon with swirls for eyes. Dawn crouched next to Gary, putting a hand on the trainer's shoulder. Gary rubbed Blastoise on the head and then stood up and looked at Dawn. He let a small smile reach his lips. "Thanks Dawn." He said as he took Blastoise's pokeball out of his pocket. Brock wasn't paying attention and Ash escaped his grip. Ash headed towards Blake. Dawn nodded in response to Gary. "Blastoise, thanks. You did great now return." Gary's voice was steady.

"Toise…" Uttered the Pokémon as it returned. Gary stuffed the pokeball in his pocket, the pokeball clanged against his other ones. Gary and Dawn turned to see Ash running towards Blake with fury in his eyes.

"ASH!" They all shouted at the same time, not meaning to do it at the identical moment. Ash ignored his friend's shouts and headed towards the beat-up dog. He wasn't letting the darkness take over Blake this easily.

Blake saw the dark shape of a human coming towards him. His vision was blurred from too much at one time and he was tired. Blake let a low growl escape his lips and then let a little of the darkness escape him. Ash was only a few feet away and then he got hit with another wave of black from Blake's body. It didn't send Ash flying, only a few feet back. Ash gasped as he fell on his back. He just needed to catch his breath for a second…but he was Ash and of course, Ash wouldn't quit till it was over. Ash stood back up and let out a breath. He felt a hand on shoulder and disregarded it, walking towards Blake again. The hand slid off his shoulder like butter on a plate; out of downheartedness. Ash made it to the Pokémon who was struggling to keep his eyes open. Blake let another weak wave of black hit Ash, but Ash merely stood his ground and didn't budge.

"Lithe… growlithe." Blake weakly muttered, falling into a sitting position. The darkness was eating Blake from the inside out. It always was. But, it isn't until now after all of these years; that Blake can _feel _it. It felt like a million tiny bugs swarming around inside of your body. Like your organs were gradually but agonizingly shutting down and shriveling away. Like you were trapped in a cage and the walls were closing in around you. It felt like all of this and more to Blake, and all the deprived dog could do was sit there with his eyes shut firmly and allow the agony to win.

Ash saw Blake's body tense up and his features become like jelly, molding to the mind of the creator, to the discomfort. Ash got on his knees and slowly advanced his hand towards Blake. Blake became stiffer as Ash came closer to him, mostly out of fear. Ash's hand was then hovering inches away from Blake's fur. Ash let a breath out he didn't even know he was holding. He put his hand on Blake. Ash felt a dark power start to surge though him. He felt pure evil inside of him, eating away his insides.

_Ash! _Arceus yelled out to Ash rather loudly in his head. It took Ash a few seconds to recollect his thoughts a stutter an answer out. His body was shutting down from the darkness.

_W-what? _

Arceus was watching from his place above the earth. He saw Ash struggling.

"Ash…" He muttered to himself upon seeing the damaged boy. Then, a black aura started to gather it's self around Ash's body. "No…no!" Arceus yelled, trying to think back to Ash, only to find he couldn't. He was blocked like a rat in a cage. "No!" The god bellowed, all of his anger making a clap of thunder ring it's way though the reins of the earth. "NO! This child is supposed to help save the world! Not destroy it! Noth-" The god cut himself short when he saw Blake fall onto his side. He saw Ash do the same thing, the boy's hand still on Blake's back. Arceus closed his eyes and floated down to earth, knowing that his knew duty was to save the boy.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as Ash used his open hand to gently grab the mouse and slide him across the floor; out of the harm's way. Or, out of the way of the evil consuming Ash. "Pi, pika!" Pikachu said as he tried to move, but found out that he was now being held tightly by Dawn. "PIKA!" Pikachu cried, tears streaming down the yellow Pokémon's cheeks; realizing this could be the end of a life-long friendship. The end of Ash.

"Pikachu…" Ash managed to get out before he doubled-over in pain. The darkness was almost fully inside of Ash. Dawn, Brock and Gary could only watch in shock as Ash groaned. The black was now a perfect out-line around him and it now was going up his body; starting slowly at his legs. Ash was on his side, rolling around in pain. But, then a white light filled the room and everyone shielded their eyes.

Before them stood Arceus.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Seventeen- The God

_Arceus appeared in front of them._

Dawn watched Arceus in awe as Gary stood in front of her; in a protective brotherly way. Brock was standing next to them with shock etched on his face. Arceus looked back at the three shocked teens and gave them a small, reassuring smile. Gary loosened up and Dawn pushed him aside so that she could come face to face with Arceus. Arceus turned towards the blue-haired girl completely, keeping a eye on Ash out of the corner of his eye. The darkness was slowly creeping up Ash's body; it was now up to his knees. If the shadowy black covered over Ash's entire figure-he would be controlled by the darkness like Blake. The raven haired trainer would become a shell; one that could break easily and yet is very…bold. An outline to throw away.

A skin to shed.

A puppet. Dawn's eyes told all, it's not like she could hide her emotions right now anyway. That was impossible. She was _too_ broken to think right now, her mind telling her one thing and her heart another. Dawn and the god just stood there for a moment, each one of them reading the other like an open book. Then, Dawn broke the contact and looked down at the ground. The white Pokémon frowned at this and walked towards Dawn; Pikachu struggling to get out of the blue-haired girl's grip. The god lifted his paw and put it on Dawn's shoulder. Dawn turned quickly and Arceus' paw slid off her shoulder slowly, lingering there for a few moments to make sure of her next action. Tears where falling out her eyes like bullets from a gun.

"Arceus…" Dawn finally spoke, her voice shaky.

"Yes child?" The god responded, making his voice as gentle as he could.

"Please… please save him. He's…he's been through too much to fall from something this evil." Arceus nodded his head.

"Child, he is the chosen one. If he dies-the world does too." With that, the god turned and gasped. The darkness was now halfway up Ash's body and becoming quicker. Arceus shook his head angrily. He let out a thundering roar. The roar echoed around the earth, making every person at that time look up to the sky in wonder. The roar also made the darkness pause and look the god's way. They had a stare-down; good vs. evil, life vs. death. It was a boxing match that wouldn't end until one side collapsed. The darkness seemed to laugh at the god and started to go up Ash's body again; faster than a Mankey. Arceus roared again but it did no good, the darkness ignored the god.

Arceus' mind started thinking of ideas faster than a train. He needed to save the boy, but at the same time, vanquish the darkness. Then, an idea hit him. He smirked and then let out a low growl. His body was surrounded by a grey light and a pitch black ball started to charge up I front of his chest. Everything was frozen, like ice had just spread around the room like wild fire. After a few seconds, the black ball was massive and the god roared loudly. He threw his feet up and stood on his hide legs for a moment, like a horse that was just scared to near death. Then, he let the 'aura' ball go and fell back down to his four feet. The ball slowly floated and headed towards Ash almost as if it was alive, burning with curiosity. It stopped a few inches from his weakened body.

"B-Brock…what is that?" asked Dawn with some fear in her voice. Brock's mouth was wide open in awe. You see, Brock had only read about the legends of Arceus. One of the legends was that when man was guilty of something, the god would use a move called Judgment. This move would determine if human kind was guilty or not. "…Brock?" Dawn asked again, glancing over at the breeder. Brock snapped out of it and looked at Dawn. He saw Gary out of the corner of his eye. Gary was watching Brock with a look Brock had only seen Gary give Ash when he lost 'the battle'. It was a look of fear. Brock sighed, knowing both of the teens were counting on him to answer their questions.

"It's a move called Judgment. It judges the opponent. If the opponent is guilty, or in this case, full of evil; it destroys the enemy." Brock regretted what he said as soon as he saw Dawn and Gary's awestruck faces. "But," Brock counted quickly. "If the so called 'enemy' is a friend and not a foe, they are cleansed of any evil seeping into them." Gary and Dawn nodded their heads and turned back to watch, hoping this plan worked.

* * *

The white Pokémon watched the ball with esteem, hoping that his plan would work. He had a slight bit of fear in him, the feeling tugging at his stomach, like a twisted up knot. He even had a slight lump in his throat and a nagging voice in his mind that wouldn't go away. Every second the ball floated there studying Ash, every second the knot tightened. Every breath the god took, the lump became bigger. Every confident thought Arceus believed in his mind, the irksome whisper became more irritating. This made the god give his idea second thoughts. Meanwhile, the ball was done studying the raven-haired boy and now had a judgment.

The ball floated up and glowed. Like a flashing neon 'open' sign on a restaurant. The orb did it again, brighter this time. Everyone watched, frozen, with their eyes struggling to believe what they were seeing. Arceus counted the flashes in his mind. If it flashed two more times, then his plan worked. If it only flashed once more, or not at all, his plan failed and he just ruined the earth's last chance at staying alive.

Flash, _3. _

One more flash and everything would fall in place. Like cards in a neat deck, ready to be dealt , everything stopped. Immobilized. The only being in the room that could move was Arceus, as he was confused on what was going on. Time was stopped. The god heard something to the right of him and he slowly turned his head towards the noise. A blue portal was deliberately forming. Arceus let out a breath of relief he didn't even know he was holding when he knew the portal was a friend and not a foe.

A screech was heard from the portal and Arceus turned his entire body towards the portal; ready to meet his friend.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Eighteen- Time

A dark blue Pokémon slowly made his way out of the portal, it's face showing no emotion. Arceus smiled at this. The other god was trying to be tough. The beast then floated over to where Arceus stood, the portal snapping shut behind them. Before him stood Dialga, floating there with pride streaming out of him. Arceus nodded to the blue Pokémon, showing he noticed his presence. They both stood still, with time still stationary behind them. Finally, the pearly white Pokémon spoke up.

"Why did you stop time Dialga?" Dialga's eyes didn't avoid Arceus' like the main god would have expected. Instead, their eyes locked.

"Arceus, it wasn't going to flash another time."

"…" Arceus was speechless. "So-"

"Your plan would have failed." The silence loomed over the two of them with wandering eyes. "But, I can fix it." Arceus' eyes filled with relief.

"Thank you. You will be rewarded for your actions." All Dialga did was nod. Dialga took a step back from Arceus and a bright blue light started to form in the Pokémon's open mouth. Dialga's white tail grew bigger and his eyes filled with power. The blue sphere kept getting bigger and bigger. The white Pokémon watched with new-bound respect for Dialga- now fully realizing how strong he _really _was. Then, the ball charged up all of the way and it disappeared- blue sparkles floating around the room. Time started to play in slow motion. The orb above Ash flashed once.

Then twice. Everyone held their breath as they prayed it flashed a third time. And… it did. The teens stayed quiet while Arceus turned to the blue Pokémon. "Thank you."

"Anything to save the world."

"You will be awarded." Dialga's face lit up.

"Thank you Arceus." A blue portal started to form next to Dialga. Dialga turned and started to leave. But then he stopped and turned back to Arceus. "When are you going to show the boy how to use his aura powers?" Arceus sighed.

"One thing at a time." With that, Dialga roared and left though the portal. Arceus turned and saw the white sphere go into Ash. The darkness slowly started to disappear from Ash's body. The god smiled and let a white light engulf him.

He was gone a second later.

* * *

Ash felt all of the pain start to disappear from his body. He slowly opened his eyes- thinking it was just a prank; his devilish imagination. But it wasn't. Ash watched as all of the darkness slowly disappeared from his body.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as it hopped onto Ash. Ash grinned and hugged Pikachu tightly. "Chu, pika, pika." Ash chuckled.

"I have missed you too buddy." Ash felt a hand on his shoulder and let go of Pikachu. Pikachu still clutched tightly onto Ash's shirt. Ash looked up and saw Gary, Brock and Dawn above him. They were all standing there with warm smiles on their faces. Dawn jumped on top of Ash and hugged him tightly. Ash smiled wider and hugged back. "I love you Dawn." He mumbled into her shoulder. Dawn grinned.

"I love you too Ash." They stayed like that for a few more moments until Gary cleared his throat. The two trainers blushed a deep shade of red. Dawn got off of Ash and stood next to Brock- her face flaming. Gary smirked as he helped Ash get to his feet.

"So, Ashy-boy, how do ya feel?" Ash let a small breath out.

"I feel fine, thanks for askin." Gary patted Ash on the back and went over to stand next to Dawn and whispered something into her ear. Dawn's blush gone; she turned sharply and slapped Gary.

"NOOO!" She yelled as Gary held his cheek. He was smirking all the while. Brock, Ash and the mouse Pokémon face-palmed. One minute the sandy-haired trainer is an older brother- mature and everything and the next he is back to being a kid. Ash never knew why he looked up to him anyway. The raven-haired boy shrugged it off- instead turning his head to Pikachu (who was on his shoulder) and scratched him behind the ears. Pikachu purred like a cat. Ash chuckled quietly and then turned back to the bickering duo. Dawn and Gary were yelling like wild animals and Brock was now standing next to Ash.

"Ash are you-"

"Well-"

"Ash." Brock sternly said. Ash sighed and nodded. He walked over to the childish teens and stood between them. "Hey!" He yelled. Dawn and Gary ignored him. Ash got more annoyed. "Guys! GUYS!" He yelled louder, gaining their attention.

"What Ashy-boy?" Ash burst. "I was just dying…wait no, I think dying…a few minutes ago and you two are fighting over some stupid thing Gary said? What did he say anyway!?" Ash looked between the two. Dawn smiled sheepishly and Gary's smirk grew wider; if that was possible.

"Oh nothing really Ash…" Gary walked away. Brock just stood there with a small smile on his face. Ash turned to Dawn and her smile faded.

"Umm…I love you Ash?" Ash chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

"I love you too." Dawn pecked Ash on the cheek and Brock turned and went to go and tell Nurse Joy why their whole room looked like it had been mobbed. Ash pulled away and Pikachu licked his cheek. Ash smiled wider.

"Come on, we need to go and help Brock explain to his 'love' that we did not do _this._" Ash waved his hands at the room, which was utterly destroyed. The couches were flipped and the walls were burnt to crisps in some places. Dawn agreed and they headed off to help Brock.

* * *

_Cyrus, when are we going to strike? _Cyrus chuckled.

"Mewtwo, why are you so inpatient about this?" The purple Pokémon sighed.

_Cyrus, we had a deal. Now answer- when are we attacking Team Rocket? _Cyrus scribbled something down on the blueprint that was in front of him. The blue-haired man stayed quiet. Mewtwo became overcome with fury. _Answer me! _Cyrus scribbled another thing down on the blueprint. _ANSWER ME! _Mewtwo's voice boomed inside of Cyrus' head; causing a headache to erupt in the man's head.

"Argh! Mewtwo! I told you already! Patience is the key! If you simply cannot wait a day or two then why are you still with me on this?!" The Pokémon stayed quiet for a few moments. Cyrus then felt a presence behind him. He turned quickly to see Mewtwo himself- the Pokémon looking steamed at that. Cyrus stood up slowly from his chair and smiled devilishly at the annoyed Pokémon. Mewtwo send a glare his way.

"I am still with you because you promised _revenge_!" Cyrus laughed half-heartily. Mewtwo continued, "Here you are, planning to take over the world and kill a boy and his friends, while my ideals sit in hault!"

"All of this ties together." Mewtwo's eyes became filled with fury.

"NO IT DOSENT! I know what you are doing-" Mewtwo answered as he started to charge up a blue physic ball in his hands, "you are simply using _me_." Cyrus's eyes turned dark. He mentally cursed himself for letting the god Pokémon find out his plan.

"…and how is that so?" Cyrus asked as he turned back around to the table and rolled back up the blueprint. Mewtwo shot the ball towards Cyrus. Cyrus stuffed the blueprint into his pocket and jumped out of the way quickly. Mewtwo started to charge up another attack.

"How is that so?!" He yelled, sending the ball flying, "You just want to rule the world! That boy-the one with black hair- I remember him! He stopped me from destroying the world! And since I never wanted the world to remember I erased his memory! I have been regretting that! That boy deserves the right of knowing what he did! But you, _you _plan to destroy him! He will not be destroyed, I will not allow you to take over the world!

Curse my damn foolishness of revenge to take over my thoughts and action! But you will not-" Mewtwo froze. Cyrus simply smiled. A dark light started to engulf Mewtwo. The purple Pokémon fell to his side in pain. Cyrus pulled out his blueprint and scanned it over quickly.

"Hmm…the plan will work even better with you this way…" He mumbles.

"W-what are you d-doing to m-me?" Mewtwo managed to get out. Cyrus stuffed the blueprint gently back into his pocket and turned to look at the god. The darkness was almost fully covering him.

"I just re-created what Alex Foul did many years ago. I created another monster…in your eyes at least." The darkness fully covered Mewtwo. Mewtwo went still. Then, he stood up stiff and strait-with an evil gleam in his eyes. His eyes were pitch black and his body was darkened. Cyrus grinned wider. "Welcome to the _actual _dark side Mewtwo."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Nineteen- Talk

_A few days later…_

"Pikachu! Pika, Pikachu!" The small yellow Pokémon yelled to Ash as he took a fighting stance. Ash sighed and looked at Dawn.

"You want to battle Dawn?" Ash asked, giving a side glare to Pikachu. Pikachu smiled sheepishly. Dawn smiled brightly at Ash.

"Sure, that would be great! Prinplup needs some practice anyway!" Ash nodded and went to the left side of the battle field; while Dawn went over to the other side. They had…successfully…if you could even say that, explained to Nurse Joy about the mess. Let's just say…her mouth dropped for a good hour. She still let them say at the Center though, so that was lucky for them. Brock got up from his seat on the side and stood at the referee stand.

"Okay, this is a one vs. one battle. The first to faint the opponent's Pokémon wins!" Ash and Dawn looked at Brock and nodded. He gave a slight nod back.

"GO!" "Okay Pikachu, get in there!" Ash yelled as Pikachu took a fighting stance in front of the raven-haired boy. Dawn smirked a little and threw out Prinplup's pokeball out. Prinplup stood in front of Dawn with a grin on his face.

"Prin!"

"Dawn, ladies first!"

"Why thank you Ash, but you will regret it! Okay Prinplup! Use Drill Peck!"

"Pulp!" Prinplup's beak started to grow a white color and grow larger.

"Pikachu dodge and use Volt Tackle!"

"Pi!" Prinplup lounged for Pikachu, who was surrounded by a bright yellow. Pikachu dodged swiftly and then rammed into Prinplup with great power from the Volt Tackle. Prinplup flew backwards and Ash smiled.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu started to charge up a powerful thunderbolt as he then let it go. But, instead of striking Prinplup, it strikes a wave of blue. Ash's mouth dropped open. "Y-you didn't even call out an attack Dawn!" Dawn smiled brightly.

"I know. Prinplup and I just know by a look. That was Waterfall by the way." Ash nodded and Pikachu looked back at him, regretting asking for this battle. Ash nodded slightly and Pikachu started to charge up a Quick Attack. "Prinplup! Whirlpool!"

"Pulp!" Pikachu started to run towards Prinplup as the blue Pokémon threw a strong Whirlpool at Pikachu.

_Ash… _Arceus' voice rang though Ash's head. Ash mumbled something and then answered Arceus.

_Yes? _Pikachu went around the Whirlpool and slammed, head on, into the penguin Pokémon. They both flew backwards.

_Cyrus is now going to try and take over the world. _Ash froze. _He has enough power to take __**me **__on. I need to tell you._ Ash nodded slowly. Pikachu and Prinplup were both struggling to stand. The, they both fell over at the same time.

"It's a draw!" Brock's voice vibrated around Ash's head. He nodded in happiness. Ash went over and scooped Pikachu up in his arms.

"Thanks buddy, you did great."

"Pikachu…" Was all Pikachu managed to say before he passed out.

"Okay guys, let's head over to Nurse Joy." Brock said as he led the way with Dawn and Ash following behind him.

* * *

_Ash, he has Mewtwo under his control, using the same force that he did on Blake. _Ash, Dawn and Brock were all in the waiting room of the Pokémon Center and Arceus was telling Ash about Cyrus and Mewtwo.

_How did he mange to do that?! _Ash asked, surprised. Ash heard the white Pokémon sigh.

_He recreated what Alex Foul did to Blake. _Ash let a sigh escape him. Dawn, who was sitting next to him, noticed.

"Ash, what's wrong?" She asked, looking at Ash's face to see if there was any emotion plastered on it. Ash's face was a stone.

"Nothing Dawn…" Ash uttered back, looking away. Dawn put her hand on Ash's fumbling one. He froze like ice.

"Ash…calm down and tell me." Ash nodded slightly. He squeezed her hand once and then locked eyes with her.

"Cyrus is stronger than we ever imaged." Dawn's eyes showed fear, but her body remained stiff.

"H-how do you know this Ash?" Ash smiled slightly at the way she was looking at him.

"I know things." Dawn knew she wasn't going to get a better answer than that so she left it alone. Ash let out a long breath and pecked Dawn on the cheek. He continued, looking away. "That…devil…has Mewtwo under his control." Dawn gasped and Brock turned his head somewhat to listen in on the teenager's conversation. Ash squeezed Dawn's hand slightly again in reassurance.

_Ash, you shouldn't tell her all of this. _Ash stopped himself from yelling out loud.

_Why…? _Ash managed to get out; without yelling at the wall. The god sighed once again.

_I said you couldn't trust her completely. _Ash nearly scoffed out loud.

_She's my freaking girlfriend; I think I can trust her. _Dawn's voice snapped him out of his rant.

"Ash?" She asked, rather quietly. Ash looked at her to see a tear trickle down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb as gently as he could.

"Yes?" Dawn leaned her head on Ash's shoulder. She felt safe with him around.

"Are we going to be able to stop him?" Ash stayed quiet for a moment as he was deep in thought; with Arceus' voice nagging him in the back of his mind.

"Yeah, we should be able too." Dawn nodded in response and then started to doze off, leaning more on the raven-haired boy's shoulder. Brock cleared his throat and Ash looked at him. Brock's mouth was pressed in a thin line.

"Ash…" Brock asked, choosing his words carefully. "Are you sure you're not biting off more than you can chew?" Ash shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine." Brock nodded and got up to go and check on the Pokémon.

_Ash, you should find Gary and tell him about this. _Ash laughed mentally.

_Gary would make fun of me. _Ash looked around the room to see no one else there.

_No, remember how I said he could be the most trusted? _Ash's mind recollected that moment.

_Oh yeah…but-_ The god cut him off.

_No buts. Now, listen closely. For you to have enough power to stop Cyrus and save the world- you need to learn how to use your aura powers._

* * *

**~A.N~**

**Hey guys. This chapter is kinda short but it had to end at the spot for it to work. I think I have this story planned out… maybe this will end by chapter 25? Just a guess. So, let's see if we can get this up to 100 reviews by the time this is over! :D Happy Thanksgiving as well! :)**


	20. Chapter Twenty

Yami Hinote

_Dark Fire_

Chapter Twenty- A New Companion

Ash nearly choked on his own spit. Ash just sat there, stiff as a rock for a moment as the sentence kept repeating itself in his mind. Aura powers? _Use _them? The god let Ash sit there in thought for as long as the raven-haired trainer needed. The only time Ash used his aura powers was to save the tree; the tree of life. The memories of that journey came flooding back into Ash's mind quickly; like a train not slowing down. May and Max had went with Brock and himself on that journey, none of them willing to give up. As the teen recollected everything from his journey, he realized something. When Lucario came out of the staff during the ball, he had mistaken Ash for Sir Aaron. The blue dog Pokémon had said that Ash had the same amount of aura as Sir Aaron. That meant that Ash's aura was almost as powerful as the king of aura himself.

Everything clicked. Dawn shifted on Ash's shoulder, snapping him back to reality. Ash's hold around Dawn tightened and he closed his eyes for a second, letting everything sink in.

_Ash? _Arceus' voice asked calmly, like the world _wasn't _in danger right now.

_Arceus, I'm ready. What's my first step? _The god paused and thought for a moment.

_Go and find Blake and Pikachu first. _Ash nodded and gently pushed Dawn off his shoulder, hoping he would wake her up. She woke up anyway.

"Where are you going Ash?" She asked sleepily as Ash stood up and started to walk away. He paused when he heard the blue-haired girl's voice.

"I am going to go and check up on Blake and Pikachu. I'll be right back."

"All right. And Ash?" Ash raised his eyebrows in question.

"Yes?" Dawn shifted so that she was leaning against the wall.

"Don't do anything stupid." She mumbled as she drifted back asleep. Ash chuckled and bolted down the hallway to search for Brock. He found him in the room with Prinplup, who was chirping happily as he ate Brock's homemade Pokémon food. Ash went over and tapped Brock on the shoulder, hoping he wouldn't flip around and hit Ash on accident. Brock turned around and frowned for a moment and then a small smile appeared on his face.

"Ash, I wouldn't do that again because next time- you might not have a head." Ash grinned.

"I know that. Do you know where Blake and Pikachu are?" Brock nodded his head and then went to the door, Ash following. Brock pointed at a room a few doors down.

"They are both in that room. I just checked on them and they seem to be doing just fine." Ash nodded and started to head to the room when Brock stopped him. "Ash, you do realize that Blake isn't _actually _your Pokémon right? He is going to have to go back to the wild after he is fixed up." Ash's eyes went to the floor.

"I know…" He mumbled as he pulled away from Brock's grip and headed to the room.

* * *

Ash opened the door and a yellow fuzz-ball jumped on him.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried as he hugged Ash, Ash hugging right back.

"Hey buddy, how are ya doing?" Pikachu pulled his head out of Ash's shirt and smiled.

"Pika, pi, chu, chu, pi." Ash chuckled at his bull-headed Pokémon's response.

"Like trainer like Pokémon…" Ash muttered as he shut the door behind him. Ash sat on a chair that was in the corner of the room and Pikachu snuggled up close to Ash. Ash wrapped his arms around Pikachu tighter and rubbed the mouse Pokémon behind the ears. Pikachu purred like a cat. "So buddy how are you holding up?" Pikachu looked up at Ash with a glare that said 'don't even get me started'. Ash chuckled lightly. "Alright, alright! You don't have to tell me then. I just wanted to see how my best buddy was doing!"

"Chu, chu, pika…" Pikachu mumbled back in response and it was Ash's turn to glare at Pikachu.

"That was mean buddy." Ash warned as Pikachu jumped down and went into another room. Ash sighed, wondering if his Pokémon was getting a mallet to whack Ash upside the head with. Pikachu instead came back a few seconds later with some ketchup in his hands. Pikachu hopped back into Ash's lap and threw the lid on the ground as he filled his cheeks up with the red delight. Ash held back his laughter when the Pokémon looked at him, the mouse's cheeks filled up just like a squirrel's. Pikachu then grinned and that sent Ash into a fit of laughter.

Pikachu swallowed all of the ketchup and then gave a death glare to Ash-which shut the raven-haired boy up in a mili-second. Ash then remembered about Blake. "Pikachu, is Blake in here?" Pikachu nodded and then sighed as he slowly (and carefully) put the bottle of ketchup on the ground and pointed over to a small bed in the corner. Ash got up and went over to look. Blake was sleeping soundly, all of the darkness gone-just a mere memory. Ash smiled kindly at the sleeping Pokémon and then remembered his duty.

_So now what? _Ash asked, waiting for the god to answer.

_Blake must agree to take this journey with you. He has to become your Pokémon. _Ash face-palmed.

_And how- _The god cut Ash off before the ten could finish his witty comeback.

_Just do it Ash. _Ash grumbled.

_Alright, fine. _Ash gently went over to Blake and shook him carefully, hoping Blake wouldn't singe off his eyebrows. Lucky for Ash, Blake opened his eyes and relaxed once he saw it was Ash. Blake sat up and lazily looked around the room for any signs of trouble.

"Grow…" He mumbled as he tried to go back to sleep after not seeing anything. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, the ketchup bottle forgotten. Ash sighed.

"Blake, I kinda need to ask you something important…" Ash trailed off in thought as Blake opened his eyes and sat up, figuring that he won't get to go back to sleep anyway.

"Growlithe, grow, lithe." Blake mumbled out as Ash snapped out of his thoughts.

"Blake, would you like to be my Pokémon?" Blake's face went blank, memories flooding back to him. Blake hated the feeling of being trapped in a red ball of closed space. He hated be controlled by a human to do horrible things. The dog had sworn that ever since his family died he would _never _obey another human's commands again. But with Ash, it was different. Blake could tell that Ash only meant good and no harm, he was chosen by Arceus to save the world after all.

Blake let out a groan and sigh mixed, because he wasn't sure on what to do. Trust a human again and risk his life, or just roam the world alone-hoping Ash can save it without Blake at his side. Ash noticed Blake lost in thought. So he decided to put in a few words of his own. "Blake, if you are afraid I am anything like Foul from those many years ago; you are wrong. I aim to become a Pokémon Master and people claim that I already mastered it. But, without saving the world- I am just a failure not a damn hero."

"Pika, pi." Pikachu uttered, knowing his trainer was going to leave the room and ran away at any minute. Blake cut Ash off next.

"Grow, lithe, grow." Ash pondered this. He understood Blake like one of his own Pokémon.

"I swear on my life and promise on the world." Blake smiled and hopped into Ash's arms-liking Ash all over the face. Ash chuckled and rubbed the dog under the belly and then set Blake on the floor. Ash took a pokeball out of his pocket and Blake clicked the button with his nose. Ash held the ball in his hand as it shook and then clicked- the click echoing around the room like it was a cave. Right after that, the pokeball opened and Blake came right out. The dog dusted itself off with his paws and glared at Ash.

"Grow, grow, lithe, Growlithe." Ash chuckled as Pikachu smiled.

"So you and Pikachu both hate the ball then? Then I guess I now have two traveling partners."

* * *

**~A.N~**

**Bad ending, I know but better than a cliffhanger right? :D**


End file.
